Rothschild - Fränkel family papers

Correspondence, official documents, photographs, and memoirs pertaining to the experiences of the maternal (Rothschild) and paternal (Fränkel) branches of the family of Ed Francell, and how they were impacted by the events of the Holocaust. Includes documents about Yvonne Redgis (Rothschild) and her life in pre-war France, during the occupation of France, as a forced laborer at Auschwitz, and her post-war immigration to the United States. Collection also contains correspondence, photographs, identification documents, and other items about the Fränkel family, originally of Danzig, and later France. Includes documentation about Gertrude Fränkel and her son, Werner, in particular about Gertrude’s experiences in occupied France and her post-war immigration to the United States, and Werner’s conscription as a forced laborer in France and his subsequent deportation to Auschwitz. The Rothschild – Fränkel family papers document the experiences of the maternal and paternal branches of the family of the donor, Ed Francell, prior to, during, and following the Holocaust. On the maternal side of the donor’s family, most of the documentation is about Yvonne Redgis (Rothschild), with photographs, personal identification documents, correspondence, and printed material focusing largely upon Redgis’ experiences as a member of the Resistance in occupied France, her arrest and deportation to Auschwitz, her repatriation to France after the war, recognition as a resistance fighter, reunion with her parents, and her immigration to the United States. Also included are photographs and a pedigree about her dog, Nicolas; and versions of her memoirs in three languages, as well as correspondence about her efforts to publish the memoirs in the United States. This memoir, originally titled “Doors That Open from the Outside” or “Le 8618 revint,” was published in France in 2010 under the title Survivre: souvenirs d’une rescapée d’Auschwitz. Documentation about the Fränkel family includes photographs and identification documents about Gertrude Fränkel, correspondence to and about the French family who sheltered her during the occupation, and documents related to her immigration to the United States in 1947. Material related to Werner Fränkel includes postcards that he sent to his mother from a forced labor camp in southern France in 1942, and postwar documents related to the family’s search for his whereabouts, and reference material about forced laborers in France, including information about the convoy to Auschwitz that included Fränkel. The collection also contains an audiocassette that may contain a copy of a recording of Yvonne Redgis speaking in 1947 at an unspecified event, a medallion with a depiction of a concentration camp and the words “N’oubliez jamais” that was presented to Redgis (“Mme. Klug”) in 1950 by the FNDIRP, and five lapel pins from various organizations, primarily related to former French resistance fighters.

The collection is arranged into two series: I. Redgis, Yvonne, II. Fränkel family, with the latter divided into three subseries for Gertrude Fränkel, Werner Fränkel, and Fränkel family photographs. Arranged is alphabetic by folder title within each series.