Schönwald Family Correspondence

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0510

Staff Only

Scope and Content

Rehoused in archival polyester sleeves, the bulk of the letters, postcards, and telegrams included in this collection were sent by Henry’s parents, Curt and Regina; there are some letters and a telegram from other relatives. Some of the letters are typed, however most of them are handwritten. Both Henry Wald and his parents numbered the letters and postcards they sent to each other. Curt, Henry's father, always wrote to his son in German, while Regina Schönwald's letters sometimes switch to English. The earliest letter, number 3 is dated April 3, 1939, while the last dated one is no. 126 from November 22, 1941. The collection includes undated letters and an undated telegram as well. The telegrams are from 1941, and the postcards were sent between 1939 and 1941. The typed transliterations and translations of the letters by associate professor of German at University of South Florida Margit Grieb are also included in the collection. The correspondence is arranged chronologically, except for the contents of the first folder: these were translated as "miscellaneous." The collection describes the everyday lives of the parents, the daily struggles with material and emotional hardships. At the same time, the letters also convey optimism and trust in a brighter future. Thanks to the correspondence, the parents could follow their son's life in the US and often congratulated him hearing of his progress. He sent his best wishes on the occasions of birthdays, mother's day, etc.; his parents were delighted to receive these messages. The letters also record Curt Schönwald’s continuous efforts to obtain a visa to Cuba, his hope to find a way to leave Germany. Oddly enough, the numbered correspondence lacks very few letters, which testifies to the reliability of the postal services between the US and Germany before the US entered World War II.

Attached to the original letters is Prof. Kenneth Wald's article from Kolot, Voices of Conservative/Masorti Judaism on the history of his grandparents, most of which was recovered through the research of the Lutheran minister Norbert Littig, author of Erbaut 1928 C S : Erinnerung an die jüdische Familie Schönwald aus Grossröhrsdorf.

Dates

Creation: 1939 - 2010
Creation: Majority of material found within 1939 - 1941

Creator

Wald, Kenneth D. (Person)

Language of Materials

Includes materials written in English and German.

Access

The collection is open for research.

Biographical/Historical Note

Curt and Regina Schönwald, parents of Henry Wald as known in the US and whom they called Heinz, owned a department store in Grossröhrsdorf, eastern Saxony, close to Dresden in Germany. After the Nazi rise to power, they were subjected to the increasingly harsh anti-Jewish legislation and suffered from the increasingly aggressive political atmosphere. During Kristallnacht, Curt and Regina were arrested, Curt was deported to Buchenwald. He was kept there for six weeks. After his release, he and Regina managed to send their two children, Suse and Heinz, abroad, but for themselves they could not procure visas to leave Germany. Curt and Regina were forced to give up their possessions and livelihood and moved to Berlin sometime after 1938 and before 1941. They were deported on March 28, 1942 to Trawniki camp near Lublin in Poland. Possibly, they were among the ten thousand Jewish inmates of Trawniki shot at the beginning of November 1943 following the uprising in the Sobibor camp. For bureaucratic reasons, Curt and Regina's official date of death is May 12, 1945, the day the battle of Berlin ended -- and Heinz's birthday.

Heinz Schönwald, by then called Henry Wald, settled in Lincoln, Nebraska. He became a US citizen in 1943. He changed his name to Henry Wald, because, as he told his son, it sounded too German, a possible hindrance to his integration in the US during World War II. Having found these letters among his late father Henry Wald's papers, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Florida, Kenneth Wald donated them to the Price Judaica Library.

Extent

.27 Linear Feet (1 Box)

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection includes letters, telegrams, and postcards sent to Henry Wald mostly between 1939 and 1941 by his parents and other relatives. While Henry Wald could escape Nazi Germany - he settled in Lincoln, Nebraska - his parents were waiting for a visa to leave Germany. They hoped to be reunited in the United States. The letters were transcribed and translated to English. An article detailing the history of the family under the Nazi regime by University of Florida professor emeritus of political science and donor of the collection Kenneth Wald, son of Henry Wald, is also included in the collection.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically, except for folder one, which includes "miscellaneous" correspondence: a disctinction that the translator used to number some of the items in the collection.