Leslie Nichols collection

Consists of letters, dated August-September 1935, related to the efforts of Leslie Nichols of Cleveland, OH, to assist in the emigration of Dr. Walter Jaffe (who was half Jewish) and his wife, Sylvia Lavalle (who was not Jewish), of Berlin, Germany. Includes instructions on how to proceed, blank visa paperwork, a letter from Leslie Nichols to Judge Maurice Bernon of Cleveland asking for his assistance; and a letter from Leslie Nichols to Sylvia Lavalle informing her of his efforts on her behalf. The couple eventually survived the war in Paris. Mr. Leslie Nichols was a lawyer with the Cleveland, Ohio, firm of Tolles, Hogsett, and Ginn. During World War I, he served as an artillery officer in France but did not see action. After the war, Mr. Nichols' sister moved to Berlin, and lived with a couple named Walter and Sylvia Jaffe. Nicols and his wife, Marie, visited the Jaffes in Germany in 1934. In 1935, with Mr. Jaffe's law practice threatened due to Nazi racial policy (he was half Jewish), Mr. Nichols contacted acquaintances in the Cleveland area to provide support for the couple's immigration from Germany. The Jaffes eventually lost almost all of their property in Germany, but escaped to Paris, where they survived the war.