Georg and Margarethe Weiss family papers

Georg Weiss (b. 1886, later George) was born in Austria and married Margarethe Weiss (née Fuerst, b. 1890, later Margaret). They had one son, Peter (1918-1990) and lived in Vienna, Austria where Georg worked as a beer exporter and Margarethe worked as a milliner. Peter left for Belgium in 1938 at the urging of his uncle, who lived in Belgium. Shortly after crossing the border, Peter was stopped and taken to a DP camp in Belgium. In 1939 he was taken to the Kitchener DP camp in England. Meanwhile, Georg searched for people in the United States with the same last name and contacted several people in New York asking for their help. Louis Weiss was a lawyer in New York and did not know Georg or his family, but he answered Georg’s letter and became the family’s sponsor. Georg and Margarethe received their immigration paperwork in December 1939 and immigrated to the United States from Brussels in early 1940. Peter received his paperwork in May and immigrated to the United States through Canada in May 1940 and was reunited with his parents in New York. Peter settled in the Washington, D.C. area and served in the United States Army. He married Lillian in 1948 and they had two sons, Martin and Irwin.

Georg Weiss (b. 1886, later George) was born in Austria and married Margarethe Weiss (née Fuerst, b. 1890, later Margaret). They had one son, Peter (1918-1990) and lived in Vienna, Austria where Georg worked as a beer exporter and Margarethe worked as a milliner. Peter left for Belgium in 1938 at the urging of his uncle, who lived in Belgium. Shortly after crossing the border, Peter was stopped and taken to a DP camp in Belgium. In 1939 he was taken to the Kitchener DP camp in England. Meanwhile, Georg searched for people in the United States with the same last name and contacted several people in New York asking for their help. Louis Weiss was a lawyer in New York and did not know Georg or his family, but he answered Georg’s letter and became the family’s sponsor. Georg and Margarethe received their immigration paperwork in December 1939 and immigrated to the United States from Brussels in early 1940. Peter received his paperwork in May and immigrated to the United States through Canada in May 1940 and was reunited with his parents in New York. Peter settled in the Washington, D.C. area and served in the United States Army. He married Lillian in 1948 and they had two sons, Martin and Irwin.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Funding Note: The accessibility of this collection was made possible by the generous donors to our crowdfunded Save Their Stories campaign.

Lillian Weiss, Peter’s wife, donated the Georg and Margarethe Weiss papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1995. The accessions previously numbered 1995.49 and 1996.A.0023 have been incorporated in this collection.