David Eilenberg papers

The David Eilenberg papers consist of biographical materials and photographs documenting David Eilenberg’s time at the Landsberg DP Camp, his marriage to Hala Kowalska, their family members in Łódź and Malmö, and their political activities in support of the creation of the State of Israel and in assisting the emigration of European Jews to Palestine. Biographical materials include travel passes and a Landsberg residence card for David Eilenberg, the Eilenbergs’ ketubah and marriage certificate, and a newspaper clipping containing congratulations to the couple on their marriage. Photographs depict the the Eilenbergs’ wedding celebration, their families, their participation in the Betar movement, Jewish Brigade, and demonstrations in support of Jewish emigration to Palestine and the creation of the State of Israel; Eilenberg and his classmates during a course in automotive instruction at Landsberg; and Holocaust memorials in Landsberg and Malmö. David Eilenberg was born Dawid Eilenberg in 1922 in Łódź, Poland to stockings manufacturer Izak Gerszon Eilenberg and Fajga Lajzerowicz. He had two older brothers, Pinchas (Pinek) and Jakub. In 1940 the Eilenberg family was forced into the Łódź ghetto, where Eilenberg’s father died. In 1942 his mother was deported to Chelmno, where she was killed. He and his brothers were deported to Auschwitz in 1944, transferred to Lieberose (a subcamp of Sachsenhausen) three days later, then to Mauthausen in February 1945, and finally to the Gunskirchen assembly camp for Jewish prisoners in April 1945 where they were liberated in May 1945. Eilenberg lived at the Landsberg Displaced Persons (DP) camp for two years and married Hala Kowalska (daughter of Nuchem Kowalski and Blima Kowalska). The couple emigrated to Malmö, Sweden in 1947.