Skip to main content
The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects
The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects

Browse Items (87 total)

  • Letter, written in French, to Monsieur Lux sent by Georges Wolff (1917- ) mentioning Jean-Paul Wolff (1915- ) and German occupation.

  • Letter, written in French, to Albert Wolff (1906-1989) mentioning embarkment to New York.

  • Letter in French written to married couple Albert Wolff (1906-1989) and Jean Wolff (1913-1986) from Albert's brother Jacques Wolff (1903-1977), about arranging immigration visas.

  • One-page letter written in French to Jacques Wolff (1903-1977).

  • Declaration of change of residence for Eugénie Baer Hirsch, a French Jewish woman. She was married to Jacques Hirsch and the mother of Denise Hirsch Wolff (1909-2000). She immigrated to the United States and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where her daughter had moved during World War II.

  • French passport for Eugénie Baer Hirsch (1880-1967), a French Jewish woman. She was married to Jacques Hirsch and the mother of Denise Hirsch Wolff (1909-2000). She immigrated to the United States and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where her daughter had moved during World War II. Blank visa pages were not scanned.

  • French identity card of Eugénie Baer Hirsch, a Jewish woman. She was married to Jacques Hirsch and the mother of Denise Hirsch Wolff (1909-2000).

  • Newspaper of the Louisville, Kentucky, Jewish Community Center and National Council of Jewish Women's Club 60. The publication includes an article beginning on page 3 that details the youth, immigration, and subsequent settling of Jewish Frenchman Jacques Wolff (1903-1977) in the United States. Includes his service in the French army, and his personal losses to the German army and the Holocaust, after which he was able to work in wholesale business in Louisville, Kentucky. Jacques was the husband of Denise Wolff, one of the founders of Club 60.

    Pages 6-8 are missing from the original version in the Filson's collection.

  • Autobiography written in English by Denise Wolff (1909-2000), a Jewish French American that immigrated to the United States during World War II. She describes her youth in France, hardship during German occupation during World War II, and immigration to the United States via Spain and Portugal, and activities she took part in at the Temple in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Autobiography sharing the story of "Great-grandma Wolff" by Denise Wolff (1909-2000). She recounts living through multiple Germanic and German occupations in the 19th and 20th centuries, immigration to the United States, and her subsequent life as a Jewish American in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • The Rosenshiels write a two-page letter to Louisville Jewish businessman and philanthropist Isaac W. Bernheim (1848-1945) from London, England. They detail their efforts to leave Nazi Germany after "having gone through all the horrors of the nefarious Concentration camp at Dachau." They note that the treatment they have received from English authorities is warm while they wait to be able to emigrate to the United States. He describes the desperation that led his wife to ask for money from Bernheim for their immigration. Other items in Bernheim's papers show that he also funded other Jewish refugees escape from Europe in the lead up to and during World War II.

  • A two-page letter written by retired Louisville distiller and philanthropist Isaac W. Bernheim (1848-1945) to Mr. R. C. Tway provides an example of one Jewish German American's views of World War II. He argues that the United States "must enter the war in self-dense on the side of England, and do so quickly." He addresses his American sons' service in World War I for the sake of democracy and anger at the aid given to Germany afterward. He states that "in return we got this undefensible system of thievery and slavery which the world now faces and must continue to face until Hitler, Mussolini, and all their German slaves and associates are destroyed."

  • A letter from retired Louisville distiller and philanthropist Isaac W. Bernheim (1848-1945) to A. B. Cowen reflecting on the state of Judaism and Jewish life in the United States in relation to World War II and broader changes. He stresses elements of Reform Judaism and argues against the undercurrents of Zionism, referring to Judaism as "a universal religion which knows no land or people or race."

  • This birth certificate for Kurt Ackermann was produced in 1938 by the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wein or the Jewish Community of Vienna. First organized as an official Jewish community organization in the mid-19th century, in 1938 the IKG was tasked with managing emmigration and deportation of Vienese Jews.

  • Kurt Ackermann's passport contains stamps from the various ports of passage on his year and a half long journey out of Austria and to the United States.

  • It took several years for Kurt Ackermann to transfer his medical credentials and become certified to continue his career as a doctor in the United States.

  • Photograph of the Ackermann family outside their home at 2063 Sherwood Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. Pictured left to right are Trude Breiner, Kurt Ackermann, and Gerda Ackermann.

  • The November 1933 newsletter of the Louisville Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. Portions of the newsletter reflect concerns for Jews following Adolph Hitler's rise to power and the increase of antisemitism in Germany. The bulletin announces that the organization donated $300 from the emergency fund "for the relief of German Jews." It informs that the National Board of Directors approved an official boycott of German goods and that the Louisville, Kentucky, section will formally consider the boycott at the next board meeting. The newsletter notes that "In the Interim, the Advisory Committee of the Council urges you and your friends to refrain from purchasing goods made in Germany and from stores who continue to buy in Germany." The bulletin also encourages Jews "to obtain their citizenship papers" and details the requirements.

  • National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, Board meeting minutes for November 13, 1933. The minutes note that "A great deal of discussion was given the question of the German Boycott," referring to a call to boycott German-made goods. The minutes report on the views of Rabbis Rauch, Gittleman, and Bazell on a boycott. The Board formally endorsed the National Board's official boycott on all German made goods and recommended "II. that they examine carefully all labels on goods and refuse to buy articles made in any of the German states. III. that they be urged to refrain from purchasing articles in stores that continue to buy from German merchants."

  • National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, open meeting minutes for December 18, 1933. Boycotts of German goods were thoroughly discussed, and three recommendations were adopted by a majority vote: boycott all German goods
Output Formats

atom, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-xml, rss2