Jacob Mincer papers

Copyright Holder: Ms. Deborah Mincer Jacob Mincer (1922-2006) was born July 15, 1922 in Tomaszow-Lubelski, Poland, to Isaac and Dvora Mincer (Dora Eisen). His sister, Karolina, was two years older and another sister, Fryda, was 5 years younger. In 1938, he moved to Brno to attend the technical university. In the fall of 1939, he was arrested and sent to Spilberk, but, after being hospitalized, managed to avoid further deportation. He was released, provided he check in frequently with the police. Jacob learned that his family had escaped Tomaszow and was living in the Soviet occupied area of Poland. He tried to join them, but was unable to get a visa prior to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Jacob was arrested in Brno and put in prison in Kaunitz. In 1943, he was transferred to Wulzburg, where he was forced to work in a quarry. In 1944, he was transferred to Gundelsheim, where he worked to produce parts for German tanks. He was liberated by the Red Army in April 1945. Jacob returned to Brno and planned to return to school, but eventually decided to go to a displaced persons camp. On the way, he encountered American Jewish soldiers who convinced him to work for the American military government. In 1947, he went to work for the Joint near Munich, reuniting with some pre-war friends. He learned that his immediate family had not survived. He got in touch with relatives in Palestine, South Africa, and the United States, and in 1948, Jacob immigrated to the United States. The Jacob Mincer papers consist of correspondence and identification papers documenting Mincer’s efforts to emigrate from Europe before and after the Holocaust and the efforts of his uncle, Issy Mincer, to help him from South Africa. Correspondence primarily includes letters Jacob wrote to Issy from Brno before the war and from Munich and the United States after the war as well as pre-war letters documenting Issy Mincer’s efforts to provide Jacob financial assistance through the Anglo-Palestine bank. Identification papers include Jacob’s pre-war student identification card from Brno and his postwar military government travel document.