Elfriede Schloss papers
Extent and Medium
folders
3
Creator(s)
- Elfriede Schloss
Biographical History
Elfriede Schloss (1926- ) was born to Julius and Recha Meyer in the town of Mönchengladbach in Germany. Her father, a veteran from World War I, ran a business selling uniforms to various professions. His experience in World War I left him sickly, however, and in 1937 he died of tuberculosis. Elfriede’s mother and older sister, Clara, soon moved to Frankfurt, where Recha’s family lived. Despite moving closer to relatives, and for reasons she cannot recall, Elfriede was placed in a Jewish orphanage. In 1939, the children in the orphanage had several options for relocation, as they could not attend school due to anti-Semitic laws. Recha decided on France for Elfriede, as she believed that the widespread anti-Semitism would quickly blow over. Elfriede and about twenty others from the orphanage attended school near Eaubonne, France, for two years. In spring of 1941, Elfriede and 99 other children were selected to immigrate to the United States, through arrangements made by the American Friends Service Committee. The children traveled through Spain and sailed from Portugal. Elfriede lived with an uncle in Chicago, before marrying Edmund Schloss in 1947. Her mother and sister were transported to Auschwitz and killed in 1942.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Elfriede Schloss
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Elfriede Schloss
The Elfriede Schloss papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Elfriede Schloss in 1993 and 2000. These two donations have since been merged together, and can be located through the accession number 1995.A.0368.
Scope and Content
The Elfriede Schloss papers contain Elfriede’s travel visa and identification tag, and various news clippings concerning her and other orphans’ arrival to the United States. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) photocopies includes copied correspondence and documents from the AFSC archives related to the immigration of the one hundred orphans from France, of which Elfriede was included.
System of Arrangement
The Elfriede Schloss papers are arranged as a single series.
People
- Meyer, Recha.
- Schloss, Elfriede.
- Elfriede Schloss
- Meyer, Julius.
- Schloss, Edmund.
- Meyer, Clara.
Corporate Bodies
- American Friends Service Committee
- United States Committee for the Care of European Children
Subjects
- Jewish children in the Holocaust--France.
- Orphanages--France.
- Hidden children (Holocaust)--France.
- Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
- Mönchengladbach (Germany)
- World War, 1939-1945--Children--France.
- Eaubonne (France)
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--France.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.
Genre
- News clippings.
- Document
- Visas.