Wolf and Schlesinger families papers

The collection documents the pre-war lives of Rudolf Wolf and Gretel Schlesinger Wolf and their families in Frankfurt, Germany, as well as their immigration and post-war experiences in the United States. Included are biographical materials such as identification papers, diaries, and genealogical research; pre-war correspondence along with war-time letters written from family and friends in Germany as well as those who fled; immigration papers; restitution papers; and pre-war and post-war photographs of family and friends in Frankfurt and the United States. The biographical materials primarily contain identification papers and genealogy research. The identification papers include passports, driver’s licenses, marriage and death certificates, estate documents, and employment and education papers. There are also two pre-war diaries of Gretel Wolf, and undated writings that were likely authored by Rudolf Wolf. The genealogy papers include family trees, collected research, and correspondence with distant relatives related to the Wolf, Moser, and Schlesinger families. The correspondence series primarily contains the correspondence of Ella Wolf, Hermann Wolf, Gretel Wolf, and Rudolf Wolf. The bulk of the material belongs to Rudolf Wolf, and includes pre-war correspondence along with war-time letters written from family and friends in Germany as well as those who fled. There are also letters from Ella and Hermann Wolf together in Frankfurt, and separately after they were split up early in the war. The majority of the letters from Ella were written from Frankfurt. The letters from Hermann document his flight from Frankfurt to Milan, Italy and Cuba before his immigration to the United States. There is also correspondence between Rudolf and Gretel from 1942, as well as post-war letters from 1947. Additionally, there are letters from relatives and condolence letters regarding his mother’s death in 1972. All correspondence is arranged by recipient. The correspondence of Rudolf Wolf also contain letters sent to and received by Gretel Wolf. The immigration papers include immigration and naturalization papers for Ella Wolf, Gretel Wolf, and Hermann Wolf. There are also documents related to efforts by Rudolf Wolf to help his friends Ernst Kahn and Hilde Schröder immigrate to the United States. The restitution papers include claims paperwork of Rudolf Wolf, pension documents of Ella and Hermann Wolf, and German property compensation claims filed by Hans Schlesinger (John Slade). The photographs chiefly contain family and personal photographs of the Wolf, Moser, and Schlesinger families in Frankfurt, Germany. Included are portraits, childhood photographs, and casual photographs of friends and relatives. There are also vacation photographs, photograph postcards of pre-war Frankfurt, and post-war photographs of family life in the United States. The printed material contains two copies of Aufbau newspaper; a commemorative booklet from the German national shooting competition (Deutsche Bundesschiessen), held in Frankfurt in 1887; a German refugee etiquette card; and a passenger list from the S.S. Europa.

The Wolf and Schlesinger families papers are arranged as six series: Series 1: Biographical material, 1846-1993 and undated; Series 2: Correspondence, 1924-1972 and undated; Series 3: Immigration papers, 1938-1944; Series 4: Restitution papers, 1954-2008; Series 5: Photographs, circa 1860-circa 1990; Series 6: Printed material, 1887-circa 1939. All series are arranged alphabetically.