Hirsch family memoirs
Extent and Medium
folders
2
Creator(s)
- Max Hirsch
- Elisabeth Archenhold
Biographical History
Elisabeth Archenhold (b. 1907) was born in Munich, Germany to William Marx and Sophie Henrietta (Fifi) Oppenheimer Marx. She had a sister, Annie (b. 1903). Her father owned a factory that manufactured cards. In the summer of 1918, the Marx family took a vacation in the Black Forest and stayed at a hotel where they met the Hirsch family. Through their families, Annie got engaged to Arthur Hirsch in the 1920s. In 1930, Elisabeth finished school, but because professional schools were closed to Jews, she traveled to England to learn English. She studied English and economics there until 1939. In 1934, Elisabeth married Hans Archenhold and they had their first daughter, Susan (Susie), in 1935. After Hans was released from Dachau in 1938, Elisabeth continued to stay with Susie and a family in England in Staffordshire and then Hampstead Heath. Eventually, she and her family immigrated to the United States.
Max Hirsch was born on 23 February 1871 to Sigmund (1845-1908) and Sohpie (née Oppenheimer) Hirsch in Weinheim, Germany. His father was the founder of Lederwerke Sigmund Hirsch, a leading German tannery that was founded in 1868. His mother was a part of a very conservative Jewish family. They married in 1868. Max had three siblings: Rosa (1869-1896), Julius (1874-1955), and Ida (1876). In 1897, Max married Flora Altschul and they had four children: Arthur, Liesel, Erni, and Marianne. Following Sigmund’s death in 1908, Max and Julius became junior partners of the business after it became a corporation in 1901. Their sons Fritz and Arthur were to become prospective successor and future tanner, respectively. In the 1930s, an agreement was drafted to sell the following: Sigmund Hirsch O.H.G. and Lederweke Sigmund Hirsch, which consisted of 2 factories, the apartments at the works, the two houses occupied by Arthur and Fritz Hirsch, and associated grounds. In 1938, Max, Julius, Arthur, and eventually Fritz were arrested and taken by transport to the Mannheim state penitentiary and then to Dachau where they were interned for 14 days. Max was returned to the camp due to his ankle sprain, as they did not want any evidence of mistreatment. He was imprisoned for another 8 days and released to the care of his family back in Munich. He received secure passage out of Germany via Holland to Lisbon, Portugal where he wrote his memoir in 1939. His family members split and settled in different areas including Switzerland, the U.S., Portugal, and South America. He died in 1950.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Jacob, Roger and Thomas Fillion
Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2020 by Jacob, Roger and Thomas Fillion, sons of Eva Hirsch.
Scope and Content
The collection contains two unpublished memoirs of Elisabeth Archenhold [donors' maternal great aunt] and Max Hirsch [donors' maternal great grandfather] that capture their families’ experiences before, during, and after the Holocaust in Germany. The memoir written by Max Hirsch in 1939 was translated from German by Arthur Hirsch, Max’s son, and later Geoffrey Fuchs. It chronicles the history of his father’s leather tanning business, includes a timeline of family events, and relays Hirsch’s time as a prisoner in Dachau. He describes the history of Lederwerke Sigmund Hirsch, which was founded in 1868 originally as a small workshop in Weinheim, Germany by Sigmund Hirsch (1845-1908). It grew to become one of the leading German tanneries. After Sigmund died in 1908, the business was succeeded by his sons, Max and Julius (1874-1955). Julius and Max’s sons, Fritz and Arthur, respectively, were slated to become the prospective successor and future tanner. The memoir recounts historic moments as they related to and affected the business, including the Revolutionary Workers Organization strike in November 1932, the boycott of all Jewish businesses in Germany, and the implementation of the Nuremberg Laws. There is also a summary of the Hirsch family members’ various immigration to other countries such as Holland, Switzerland, and the U.S. shortly following the business’s sale to Walther Freudenberg when Max and Julius’s assets were seized by Deutsche Bank in Mannheim. A photocopy of Elisabeth Archenhold’s typewritten memoir, comprised of 88 pages, includes an appendix and was split into parts. It appears to have been relayed conversationally in 1999 when she was in her early 90s. The memoir captures Elisabeth’s family history as well as her family’s connection with the Hirsch family. It also speaks to her time spent living in England from 1930 until 1939. There is also information about her father receiving restitution and her family members’ various immigration to other countries out of Germany.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Mr. Jacob Fillion
People
- Hirsch, Max.
- Archenhold, Elisabeth.
- Elisabeth Archenhold
- Max Hirsch
Subjects
- Munich (Germany)
- Jews--Germany--Munich--Biography.
Genre
- Document
- Memoirs.
- Personal narratives.