Walter Kamlet papers
Extent and Medium
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Creator(s)
- Walter Kamlet
Biographical History
Walter Kamlet was born in Berlin, Germany, on October 22, 1922, to Benno and Mila Kamlet. He had a younger brother, Manfred. Benno Kamlet owned a sporting goods store in Berlin. During the war, the family moved to Belgium where Benno and Mila survived the Holocaust in hiding while Walter and Manfred were placed in a children’s home. In May 1940, the children's home was evacuated to France, ending up at Château de la Hille, near the Spanish border. Walter was a skilled musician and played concerts for the other children at la Hille, and received treatment for tuberculosis. In April 1944, he and Manfred escaped into Switzerland, as did Manfred. Walter remained in Switzerland for the rest of his life, living with his companion, Christa Salanthe.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Christa Salathe
The Estate of Walter Kamlet donated this collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on June 2, 2014.
Scope and Content
Consists of original pre-war, wartime, and post-war documents, restitution paperwork, and photographs related to the life and Holocaust experiences of Walter Kamlet, originally of Berlin, Germany. The collection includes information regarding Kamlet's life as a teenager at the Château de la Hille children's home run by the Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE), as well as a large number of photographs of the other children in the home, and documents regarding his escape into Switzerland in April 1944. Also includes documents about Kamlet's parents, Benno and Mila Kamlet, who survived the Holocaust in hiding in Belgium.
System of Arrangement
The Walter Kamlet papers are arranged as two series: Series 1: Documents, 1928-2007 Series 2: Photographs, 1942-1944 and undated
People
- Kamlet, Manfred.
- Kamlet, Benno.
- Kamlet, Walter.
- Kamlet, Mila.
Corporate Bodies
- Hille (Montégut-Plantaurel, France)
- International Committee of the Red Cross
- World Union OSE
Subjects
- Brussels (Belgium)
- Berlin (Germany).
- Hidden children (Holocaust)--France.
- Jewish children in the Holocaust--France.
- World War, 1939-1945--Switzerland.
- Orphanages--France--Montégut-Plantaurel--1940-1950.
- World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Germany--Berlin.
- Restitution--Germany.
- Refugee children--France.
- France
- Tuberculosis.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Reparations--Germany.
- Hille (Montégut-Plantaurel, France).
- World War, 1939-1945--Belgium.
- World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue.
- World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue--France.
- Davos (Switzerland)
Genre
- Negatives.
- Personal narratives.
- Photographs.
- Document
- Correspondence.