Frajda Tauba Birsztajn papers

Frajda Tauba Birsztajn (Frida, later Frances Karp, 1897-1974) was born in Warsaw, Poland to Icek Birsztejn and his second wife, Aidla Berlandsztein. She had at least five siblings including Rywka (Becky, ?-1984), Leon, Ewa, Thea, and Lola. Frajda married Lajb Karper (later Louis Karp) in 1922 and immigrated to the United State in 1930, but her mother and their extended families remained in Warsaw. She entered the country via Havana and they lived in Chicago until 1935 when they settled in New York. Frajda later learned that her extended family, including those with the surnames Szer, Szerman, Weintal, and Aszersohn, perished in the Holocaust. Frajda and Lajb had a daughter, Helen Karp (later Helen Ferszt). The collection consists of photographs of the extended family and friends of Frajda Tauba Birsztajn as well as her mother, Aidla Berlandsztein’s family, before, during, and after the war in Poland and the United States. The collection also includes a birth certificate and Polish passport issued to Frajda and an invitation to the wedding of Lola Birsztajn and Mieczslaw Weintal in 1935.