Honig family papers
Extent and Medium
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1
Creator(s)
- Jack Honig
- Jules Honig
Biographical History
Jack (Heinz) Honig (1921-2012) was born in Alsenz, Germany, to Julius (1886-1924) and Rudolfine (née Sternheimer, 1889-1942) Honig. He was imprisoned for several months at Dachau following Kristallnacht. He left for England on a Kindertransport in July 1939 and immigrated to the United States in March 1940. His mother, Rudolfine Honig, and grandmother, Sarah Sternheimer, were deported to Gurs in 1941. Sarah died in a hospital in Pau in 1941. Rudolfine was transferred to Noe in June 1942 and then deported via Drancy to Auschwitz in August 1942 and killed.
Jules (Julius) Honig (1924-2011) was born in Alsenz, Germany, to Julius (1886-1924) and Rudolfine (née Sternheimer, 1889-1942) Honig. He immigrated to the United States in May 1939 and lived in Scranton with foster parents Esther and Joe Brandwene, friends of his late father’s cousin, Sadie Cohen. His uncle, Sally Honig, had immigrated to the United States in 1937 and also lived in Scranton. Jules joined the Army in July 1943 and became a naturalized American citizen November 1943. He was assigned to the 294th Combat Engineer Battalion, landed in Normandy on June 13, 1944, was transferred to the Fourth Infantry Division, and crossed into Germany. He visited Dachau shortly after its liberation in April 1945. After VE Day, he was transferred to the Counter-Intelligence Corps, and he returned home in July 1945. He married Esther Heidukovsky in 1959, and the couple had two sons, Steven and Kevin. His mother, Rudolfine Honig, and grandmother, Sarah Sternheimer, were deported to Gurs in 1941. Sarah died in a hospital in Pau in 1941. Rudolfine was transferred to Noe in June 1942 and then deported via Drancy to Auschwitz in August 1942 and killed.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
Jules and Jack Honig donated the Honig family papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2002. The donations accessioned as 2002.70 and 2002.554.1 have been incorporated into this collection.
Scope and Content
The Honig family papers consist of Jack Honig’s passport and Jules Honig’s birth certificate, correspondence, a memoir, and restitution papers documenting the Honig family from Alsenz, Germany, Jules and Jack Honig’s immigration to the United States in 1939 and 1940, their mother’s death in the Holocaust, and their efforts to receive compensations from the German government for Nazi-era losses. Correspondence primarily consists of wartime letters among Jules and Jack Honig and their mother, Rudolfine Honig, including four letters during Rudolfine’s internment at Gurs. Letters describe daily life, convey family news, describe Jack Honig’s journey to England on a Kindertransport, and the brothers’ efforts to bring their mother and grandmother to the United States. This series also includes prewar family correspondence and postwar personal correspondence from Jules and Jack’s mother’s cousin, Alfred Sternheimer, containing family news as well as occasional updates about restitution proceedings. Many of the letters in this series are accompanied by translations provided by the donors. Jules Honig wrote his memoir, My Life, between 1991 and 1997. The memoir describes his childhood in Germany, his immigration to the United States, his American military service in Europe in 1944 and 1945, and his postwar life in the United States. Restitution files include correspondence, forms, financial records, and legal paperwork documenting the efforts of Jules and Jack Honig and their cousin Alfred Sternheimer to receive compensation from the German government for Nazi-era losses. Claims include antisemitic fines and taxes, the loss of Rudolfine Honig’s shoe store, forced auctions of her possessions, war damage to the Honig house, deprivation of liberty during Rudolfine’s internment at Gurs, and orphan pensions.
System of Arrangement
The Honig family papers are arranged as four series: Series 1: Biographical materials, 1939 Series 2: Correspondence, 1929-2002 Series 3: Personal narrative, approximately 1991-1997 Series 4: Restitution files, 1941-1971
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Jack Honig
People
- Honig, Jack, 1921-2012.
- Honig, Jules, 1924-2011.
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
- Neustadt an der Weinstrasse (Germany)
- Concentration camp inmates--France--Gurs--Correspondence.
- Jewish refugees--England.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Reparations.
- Jewish refugees--Pennsylvania--Scranton.
- Alsenz (Germany)
- Holocaust survivors--Pennsylvania--Scranton.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives.
- Jews--Germany--Alsenz.
Genre
- Personal narratives.
- Document
- Correspondence.