Eugen and Gertrude Schwarz family papers

Copyright Holder: Vera Frankel The Eugen and Gertrude Schwarz family papers include letters and telegrams from Gertrude’s mother in Brünn (now Brno) and brother in Lvov (now L’viv) documenting their efforts to emigrate and scrapbook pages containing photographs of Eugen and Gertrude Schwarz and their family members in Czechoslovakia as well as French identification papers for the couple documenting their brief stay in Paris and their immigration to the United States. Most of the correspondence in the collection is written to Gertrude Schwarz and her family from Gertrude’s mother, who describes the difficult sale of her home, her unsuccessful efforts to emigrate, her concern for her children and relatives, and news from family and friends. Some of these letters are accompanied by English translations provided by the donor. The collection also includes two telegrams from Gertude’s brother in Lvov with instructions about sending affidavits. The collection also includes scrapbook pages containing photographs of Gertrude and Eugen Schwarz, their twin daughters, Eugen’s parents, and Gertrude’s mother and brother. The scrapbook pages also include a photograph of pages from Eugen’s French identification card, a receipt for an application for a card for Gertrude, and a reproduction of a newspaper clipping describing the Schwarz family’s arrival in New York Harbor in February 1941, including a photograph of Gertrude with the two young girls. Eugen Schwarz (1904-1966) was born in Czechoslovakia to Albert and Helene Schwarz. He married Gertrude Singer Schwarz (1911-1998), and the couple had twin daughters, Vera and Daisy, in 1936. Eugen Schwarz was a banker and was transferred to Paris in 1938. From there the family immigrated to the United States via Lisbon in 1941. Gertrude Schwarz’s mother, Hedwig Riesenfeld (1887-1942), was deported from Brünn to Theresienstadt in January 1942 and then two months later to Izbica where she was killed. Gertrude’s brother, Heinrich Singer, fled Czechoslovakia with his wife and is believed to have been killed in Lvov. Eugen Schwarz’s parents are believed to have been deported to concentration camps in Poland.