Klestadt family papers
Extent and Medium
box
oversize folder
folder
1
1
1
Creator(s)
- Thea U. Klestadt
Biographical History
Thea Löwenstein was born December 19, 1912 in Düsseldorf, Germany, to a Jewish couple, Emil and Erna Flechtheim Löwenstein. She had an older sister, Vera (1904-1948). Thea was an artist. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg. Under Hitler, authorities quickly began suppressing the rights and personal freedoms of Jews, and boycotting their businesses. Thea married Frederick (Fred) L. Klestadt in 1935, and they honeymooned in Palestine, then returned to Düsseldorf. Fred was born in Düsseldorf on March 15, 1909 to Moritz and Rahel Aenne Lilienfeld Klestadt. He had a younger sister, Hilda (1913-1914). Fred was a well-educated man with a PhD. In September, the authorities instituted the Nuremberg Laws which made Jews second class citizens, revoking their political rights. These laws also defined a "Jew" as someone with three or four Jewish grandparents or who is practicing Jewish faith. The laws also banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews. Jews were also prohibited from working as lawyers, accountants, teachers and barred from civil service professions. Thea and Fred secured US visas and in October 1937, they left Germany. They arrived in New York on November 12, 1937. They moved to Cleveland Ohio in 1939. Fred worked as a traveling salesman. In 1955 the Klestadts adopted 14 year old Jula (Julie) Weinstock, a Jewish Polish girl whose parents were murdered in the Holocaust while hiding in a forest bunker near Lvov Poland in April 1944. Julie’s grandfather, afraid the childrens’ cries would alert the Germans took Julie and her infant sister to hide with a Christian woman. Later Julie’s sister was sent to a Catholic children’s home to keep her safe. She was taken away from the orphanage they never saw her sister again. After the war Julie’s grandfather sent her to America because young orphans received preferential treatment for US entry visas. Julie and her husband Larry have two children and live in Washington DC. Fred, aged 86, died on November 30, 1995 in Cleveland. Thea, aged 92, died on September 25, 2005 in Cleveland.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Julie Keefer
Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2014 by Julie Keefer.
Scope and Content
The collection primarily documents the prewar experiences of Fred and Thea Klestadt, originally of Düsseldorf, Germany, prior to their emigration from Germany to the United States in 1937. Documents include Thea’s report cards, clothing pattern book, and a short play written after she arrived in the US; clippings; and the menu from Fred and Thea’s wedding. Correspondence includes letters from Fred to his family while on their honeymoon in Palestine in 1935 and letters exchanged between Fred and Thea after they arrived in the United States. There is also one brief letter from the Red Cross to Thea regarding news of family members in 1942. Photographs include prewar depictions of Fred, Thea, and various family members and friends. There are also two photograph albums documenting their honeymoon in Palestine in 1935.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged as three series. Series 1. Biographical material, 1919-2003 Series 2. Correspondence, 1935-1942 and undated Series 3. Photographs, circa 1900-2005
People
- Thea U. Klestadt
- Klestadt, Fred, 1909-1995.
- Klestadt, Thea, 1912-2005.
Subjects
- Jews--Germany--Düsseldorf.
- Düsseldorf (Germany)
- Palestine.
- United States--Emigration and immigration.
Genre
- Letters.
- Photograph albums.
- Photographs.
- Document