Henry Rosenthal collection
Extent and Medium
folders
6
Creator(s)
- Henry Rosenthal
Biographical History
Henry Rosenthal (born Heinz) was born on October 5, 1926 in Erkenschwick, Germany to Georg Rosenthal (b. 1894) and Hedwig Rosenthal (Hete?, née Auerbach, b. 1891 to Simon and Julchen Auerbach). Georg was born in 1894 in Oeventrop, Germany to Louis Rosenthal (1864-1915) and Emma Ransenberg (1864-1942) and was a World War I veteran and salesman. Georg had three sisters: Klara Rosenthal (b. 1893), Emmi Rosenthal (b. 1896), and Elly Raphael (b. 1901). After Kristallnacht, Henry was sent to live in an orthodox orphanage in Cologne where he attended school. Henry then traveled to Frankfurt in 1941 to obtain an American visa and leave Germany. He took a train from Germany to Spain, through France, and left from Barcelona aboard the SS Ciudad de Sevilla for the United States. In August 1941 he arrived in New York and with the help of HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), he was placed with the Rosenberg family, a Russian Jewish family in Atlanta. Henry lived with the family for two years until he enlisted in the United States Army. In 1944 he returned to New York until the 1970s. Henry married Mildred Black (1923-2002) in 1941 and had three children: Heather Maigod, Gail Rosenberg, and Hope Fine. Henry was told that when his father, Georg, arrived at Auschwitz and after being separated from his wife he committed suicide. Henry ’s mother, Hedwig, perished in Auschwitz and Georg's mother, Emma, perished in Theresienstadt.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Henry Rosenthal
Henry Rosenthal donated the Henry Rosenthal papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019.
Scope and Content
The Henry Rosenthal papers include biographical material, correspondence, immigration documents, and restitution material relating to Henry’s wartime experience being sent to an orthodox orphanage in Cologne after Kristallnacht and immigrating to the United States in 1941. Biographical material includes documentation of birth for Henry, registry changes noting Hedwig’s date of death, a report card for Henry, a photograph of Georg and Hedwig in front of their store in Germany, a newspaper clipping about Henry volunteering in America, a copy of a photograph of a headstone for members of the Rosenthal family, and a photocopy of the front page of Henry’s German passport (Reisepass). Correspondence includes letters to Henry from his parents, George and Hedwig, and from other family members and friends, including Elizabeth Raphael, Emmi, Julius, Johanna Auerbach, Clara, Rosa, and Bertha. Also included are a few letters from Henry to his parents and German and British Red Cross communication with messages for family members and inquiries regarding the status of family members. Immigration material includes correspondence from the American Consulate regarding Henry’s application for a visa, police registration forms, a signed note from Georg and Hedwig giving permission for their son to immigrate, a tax clearance certificate, and a notice and instructions for transport. Restitution documents include bank receipts, correspondence, applications, and a letter from the Claims Conference Article 2 Fund.
System of Arrangement
The Henry Rosenthal papers is arranged as six folders.
People
- Rosenthal, Georg.
- Henry Rosenthal
- Rosenthal, Hedwig.
- Rosenthal, Henry.
Subjects
- Germany--Emigration and immigration--History--1933-1945.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Kristallnacht, 1938.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--History.
- Germany.
Genre
- Correspondence.
- Photographs.
- Document