Georg and Elise Anthes papers

The Georg and Elise Anthes papers include a postcard purportedly sent by Regina Hess (1880-1944) from Theresienstadt to Georg and Elise Anthes in Sprendlingen, Germany, and two emigration documents sent by the State Department to the family of Julius Bendheim (1892-1938). Regina Hess was deported from Darmstadt to Theresienstadt in September 1942. The postcard signed by Regina Hess is dated April 7, 1944, and it states that she is well, that she would like to hear from the Anthes family, and that she enjoyed the package including cake that the Anthes’ had sent her. She asks about their children’s schooling and relates the death of her husband Daniel in Theresienstadt in November 1942. However, the Anthes family had not sent a package, and believed that the postcard was not written by Regina Hess but may have been a ploy to get them to respond. Georg and Elise Anthes kept the postcard safe in a secret drawer in a wooden box in their home until such time that Regina might return to Sprendlingen to explain the card. In May 1944, Regina Hess was transported to Auschwitz and killed. Her son Jakob (Jack) had immigrated to the United States in 1937. The emigration documents explain that Julius Bendheim was registered on the United States quota visa waiting list under number 11599 and that he had submitted sufficient immigration documentation to allow his family of three to receive visas provided sufficient quota numbers remained and that he made firm travel plans to the United States. Julius Bendheim trusted these documents to his friends Georg and Elise Anthes for safe keeping. He died at Buchenwald in November 1938 following Kristallnacht.

The Georg and Elise Anthes papers are arranged as a single series.