Mannsbach and Goldschmidt families papers

The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of the Mannsbach and Goldschmidt families, originally of Beverungen and Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The collection primarily documents the emigration of Lilly Goldschmidt (née Mannsbach), her husband Bernhard Goldschmidt, and their son Fred to the United States in 1938, the emigration of her brothers Heinz, Otto, and Richard to South America, and her parents Karl and Luise Mannsbach, who remained in Leipzig, Germany. The bulk of the collection consists of official documents, including birth, marriage, and death certificates; pre-war, wartime, and post-war correspondence; restitution paperwork and translations of select documents. Correspondence includes several letters from Luise in Leipzig to her children prior to her deportation to Theresienstadt in 1942. The bulk of the documents are photocopies. Lilly Goldschmidt (1903-1995) was born Lilly Mannsbach on 12 December 1903 in Beverungen, Germany to Karl and Luise Mannsbach. Her father Karl Mannsbach (1867-1940) was born on 23 January 1867 om Beverungen. Her mother Luise Sara Mannsbach (1875-1944, née Rosenstein) was born on 25 March 1875 in Beverungen. Lilly had five siblings: Toni (b. 1900, later Toni Stern), Grete (1901-1943), Richard (b. 1905), Heinz (b. 1912), and Otto (1915-1943). Lilly married Bernhard Goldschmidt in 1929. Bernhard Goldschmidt (1889-1957) was born in Singhofen, Germany. He served with the German Army during World War I and received the Iron Cross. The couple moved to Gelsenkirchen around 1930 so Bernhard could work in a shoe store owned by his uncle Isadore Goldblum. Their son Alfred (1931-2008, Fred) was born on 3 August 1931 in Gelsenkirchen. Antisemitic laws forced the family to sell the business at a loss in 1938. They made plans to emigrate from Germany, and with assistance from relatives in Texas who sponsored them, Lilly, Bernhard, and Fred immigrated to the United States in October 1938. Lilly’s brothers also all fled Germany in 1938 for South America. Her sister Toni immigrated to the United States prior to the war. Lilly’s mother and father moved from Beverungen to Leipzig in 1938. Karl died in 1940, and Luise was deported to Theresienstadt on 19 September 1942 on Transport 268 XVI-1. She perished in the camp on 17 September 1944. The Goldschmidts settled in Jamaica, New York where Bernhard opened his own shoe store, Dorr’s Shoe Store, with help from his Uncle Isadore and his children. Fred married Joan Berger in 1962 in Arlington, Virginia.