Nass family papers

Max Nass (1905-1977) was born on 16 February 1905 in Straubing, Germany to Abraham and Rosa Nass. His father, Abraham (also known as Adolf, 1870-1943) was born on 8 May 1870 in Jarosław, Poland. His mother, Rosa (née Jakob, 1873-1940) was born on 2 April 1873 in Regensburg, Germany. Florett Nass (1906-1991) was born Florett Goldmeier on 4 May 1906 in Lichtenfels, Germany to Manfred and Helene Goldmeier. Manfred (1879-1953) was born on 17 April 1879 in Memmelsdorf, Germany to Leopold and Therese (née Kahn) Goldmeier. Helene (1878-1945) was born Helene Kaufmann on 12 September 1878 in Altenstein, Germany to Simon and Karolina (née Rosendorn) Kaufmann. Florett had one sister, Hilde (later Hilda Sternberg, b. 1904). Her father Manfred and his brother Arthur ran several businesses in Lichtenfels, including cattle, a glue factory, a horse trade, real estate, and a textile and clothes shop. Max and Florett married in 1904 in Memmelsdorf. They had three children: Werner (b. 1932), Samuel, and Frieda. They lived in Lichtenfels where Max owned a clothing store. Max, Florett, and Werner immigrated to the United States in November 1938 aboard the SS Normandie. They settled in New York, first living in Brooklyn and then moving to Binghamton where relatives in the Goldmeier family had a farm. Max ran a fruit and vegetable stand, and later worked for an ice cream factory and Sears. After the war Florett operated a guest house with her sister Hilda in Green, New York. In 1938 Manfred and his brother’s businesses were dissolved and they were forced to sell their properties at a loss. The Goldmeiers fled Lichtenfels for Bamberg during Kristallnacht. In April 1939 Manfred and Helene moved to Menton, France, and immigrated to the United States in May 1940 aboard the SS Champlain. Manfred and Helene moved in with the Nass family in Binghamton, where Manfred worked in a synagogue and later as a janitor at the guest house operated by Florett and Hilda. Hilda and her husband Siegfried Sternberg and their two children survived the Holocaust in Switzerland and immigrated to the United States in April 1946. Max’s parents lived in Regensburg during the war. His mother Rosa died in 1940. His father Abraham was deported to Theresienstadt in September 1942 and he perished there on 2 February 1943. Max’s son Samuel immigrated to the United States before the war and lived in San Francisco. His daughter Frieda and her husband and two children all perished at Theresienstadt. Max and Florett’s son Werner became an industrial engineer and married Daisy Schwarz, whose Czech family immigrated to the United States in February 1941. Werner and Daisy have two daughters. The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of Max and Florett Nass, their son Werner, and Florett’s parents Manfred and Helene Goldmeir. Included are biographical materials, immigration paperwork, wartime correspondence to Max in New York from his father Abraham Nass in Regensburg, Germany, and photographs. Biographical material includes identification papers, birth and marriage certificates, German passports, a clipping regarding Straubing, a Goldmeier family history, vaccination certificate, and a German driver’s license. Immigration papers include Affidavits of Support, applications for naturalization, Manfred and Helene Goldmeier’s passenger list from the SS Champlain, a naturalization certificate, and visa applications for Max’s father Abraham Nass. Correspondence consists of wartime letters, postcards, and telegrams sent to Max in New York from his father Abraham in Regensburg, and postwar letters to Max from Jakob Fuchs in Regensburg. Photographs primarily consist of pre-war depictions of the Nass and Goldmeier families, including childhood photographs of Werner Nass and his sister Frieda and Florett and Hilde Goldmeier; Manfred Goldmeier and his brother Arthur; Arthur’s wife Berta Goldmeier; David Kaufmann; and the tombstone of Abraham (listed as Adolf) and Rosa Nass.