Morris Troper papers
Extent and Medium
box
oversize folders
1
2
Creator(s)
- Morris C. Troper
Biographical History
Morris Troper was born on November 18, 1892 in New York City. His father, Abraham, was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States as a young child while his mother, Rose, was born in Austria. Troper was the eldest of a large family and, at age 11, began to work to help his family. He graduated from City College in 1914, and earned an MA in Commercial Science from NYU in 1918. He also earned his JD from NYU in 1925. With Simon Loeb, he founded the accounting firm “Loeb and Troper” in New York City. In 1919, Troper married Ethel Gartner, the office manager of the Federation of Jewish Charities. She had been born in Hungary on August 6, 1890 and immigrated to the United States in 1905. Troper became involved in Jewish charities, including the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and in late 1920, traveled to Eastern Europe to survey relief needs on their behalf. He traveled to Europe frequently throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including at least two trips to the Soviet Union in connection with Agro-Joint efforts. In the fall of 1938, Morris, Ethel, and their three children—Murray, Betty, and John—moved to Paris, where Troper served as the Joint’s European Director. He remained in that post until the Joint’s offices closed, fleeing to southern France and eventually setting up the Joint’s new European headquarters in Lisbon. In April 1942, he resigned from his position with the JDC to take a commission as a Lieutenant Colonel in the fiscal division of the United States Army. In 1957, Troper collapsed at a Joint dinner, and his wife Ethel died of a heart attack immediately afterwards. Troper recovered from his collapse and passed away in 1962.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Betty Troper Yager
Standard citation for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Curatorial Affairs Division, Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Betty Troper Yager
Betty Troper Yager, Morris Troper’s daughter, donated the Morris Troper papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1997, 2005, and 2014. The accessions formerly cataloged as 1997.36, 2005.27.1, and 2014.548.1 have been incorporated into this collection.
Scope and Content
The Morris Troper papers consist of a biographical sketch of Morris Troper and correspondence, photographs, printed materials, reports, and subject files documenting Morris Troper’s work for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, especially his work negotiating safe landing for the passengers of the MS St. Louis in 1939. Betty Troper Yager’s biography of her father is an undated four-page sketch of her father’s life and work. Correspondence primarily consists of letters and telegrams documenting the experiences and negotiations for the relief of passengers aboard the MS St. Louis and includes notes and messages from individual passengers and relief agencies. Prominent correspondents include MS St. Louis captain Gustav Schröder and the MS St. Louis Passengers Committee. Photographs depict Morris Troper, passengers, and Antwerp. Printed materials include articles, bulletins, and clippings documenting the Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany, the work of Morris Troper and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the work to rescue the passengers of the MS St. Louis. Reports document the experiences of passengers aboard the MS St. Louis and the Nazi persecution of Jews in Europe. Subject files document the work of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and include two May-June 1939 menus from the MS St. Louis and three June 1939 visitor passes for boarding the MS St. Louis and SS Rhakotis.
System of Arrangement
The Morris Troper papers are arranged as six series: Series 1: Biography of Morris Troper, post 1962 Series 2: Correspondence, 1939-1940 Series 3: Photographs, approximately 1939-1940 Series 4: Printed material, 1935-1942 Series 5: Reports, 1939-1941 Series 6: Subject files, 1939-1941
People
- Troper, Morris, 1892-1962.
- Morris C. Troper
Corporate Bodies
- American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
- St. Louis (Ship)
Subjects
- Germany--Emigration and immigration--History--1933-1945.
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees.
- Jewish children in the Holocaust.
- Refugees, Jewish.
- World War, 1939-1945--Children.
- World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue.
- Jews--Germany--History--1933-1945.
Genre
- Correspondence.
- Document
- Photographs.