Stekler family papers
Extent and Medium
box
1
Creator(s)
- Walter Stekler
- Gisela Stekler
Biographical History
Gisela Stekler (née Schrott, 1905-1988) was born on 16 January 1905 in Vienna, Austria to David (b. 1877) and Franziska (née Wolfinger, 1880-1913) Schrott. She had two siblings, Rosa (1908-1957) and Josef (1911-1911). Her father worked as a tailor. Her mother Franziska died in 1913 and her father later married Louisa Sherman (b. 1880). She became a tailor in Vienna like her father. She married Walter Stekler in January 1931 and they had one son, Hermann Otto (Later Herman Otto, 1932-2018). As Nazi aggression against the Jews intensified, the family sought refuge in the United States. Walter traveled to New York City first in October 1938 aboard the SS Statendam. Gisela and Hermann traveled on the SS Veendam to meet him six months later in 1939. The family settled in Worcester, Massachusetts. They remained in close contact with family still Europe during World War II, some of whom perished in the Holocaust. Many of their friends and family fled to various countries throughout Europe and the world, including England and China. Gisela’s stepmother Louisa was killed in a hospital, and her father David was deported from Vienna to Riga on 3 December 1941. He was later deported to Auschwitz where he perished.
Walter Stekler (1904-1981) was born on 15 December 1904 in Vienna to Hermann (b. 1868) and Bertha (née Frankfurter, 1875-1940) Stekler. He had two sisters: Rosa (1898-1942) and Sidonia (1900-1973). He worked as a bookkeeper and clerk for Gisela’s father’s tailor shop before working as a commercial manager at a ladies hat factory. He married Gisela Schrott in January 1931 and they had one son, Hermann Otto (Later Herman Otto, 1932-2018). As Nazi aggression against the Jews intensified, the family sought refuge in the United States. Walter traveled to New York City first in October 1938 aboard the SS Statendam. Gisela and Hermann traveled on the SS Veendam to meet him six months later in 1939. The family settled in Worcester, Massachusetts. They remained in close contact with family still Europe during World War II, some of whom perished in the Holocaust. Many of their friends and family fled to various countries throughout Europe and the world, including England and China. Gisela’s stepmother Louisa was killed in a hospital, and her father David was deported from Vienna to Riga on 3 December 1941. He was later deported to Auschwitz where he perished.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Herrmann Otto Stekler
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Beth Stekler
The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Herman Otto Stekler in 2011. An accretion was donated by his daughter Beth Stekler in 2019. The collections previously numbered 2011.156.1 and 2019.131.1 have been incorporated into this collection.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, and photographs documenting the pre-war lives of Gisela (née Schrott) and Walter Stekler in Vienna, Austria and their immigration to the United States in 1938 (Walter) and 1939 (Gisela and their son Herman). Included are identification documents, education and professional records, immigration paperwork, pre-war family photographs, and correspondence. The correspondence includes pre-war and wartime letters from Gisela’s father David Schrott and other family and friends in Europe and elsewhere. Biographical material include identification documents, employment records, report cards, and immigration paperwork. Documents of Gisela and Walters’s include biographical and identity documents, employment records related their careers as tailors, report cards, and tax documents and receipts. Immigration paperwork includes a small amount of documents from the Jewish Agency for Palestine, the Mexican Consulate, the American Consulate in German-annexed Austria, and the United States Department of State. Other papers include vaccination certificates of their son Herman and various records relating to Gisela’s mother, Franziska Schrott (née Wolfinger), her father David Schrott, and Hermann Wolfinger. Correspondence primarily consists of letters written to Gisela and Walter by friends and family throughout the world between 1933 and 1941. The bulk is from Gisela’s father David Schrott and step-mother Luisa Schrott of Vienna. Other correspondents include Gisela’s sister Rosa in London, Walter’s sister Rosa, and friends in Shanghai, China, New Jersey, and Austrialia. Many of the letters detail efforts to obtain immigration papers to flee Europe in the years leading up to the outbreak of World War II. Other topics include discussion of the wellbeing of friends and their plans to seek safety, being unable to work, and other family matters. Also included are telegrams sent from Gisela to Walter during her journey from Rotterdam, Netherlands to New York City and pre-war postcards sent to Gisela by family and friends. Photographs consist of pre-war depictions of Gisela and family and friends. Included are portraits, casual scenes, and several large group photographs.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged as three series: Series 1. Biographical material, 1893-1970 Series 2. Correspondence, 1914-1941 and undated Series 3. Photographs, 1917-1925 and undated
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Professor Herman O. Stekler
People
- Stekler, Herman, 1932-2018.
- Stekler, Walter, 1904-1981.
- Schrott, David, 1871-
- Gisela Stekler
- Stekler, Gisela, 1905-1988.
- Schrott, Rosa, 1908-1957.
- Schrott, Luisia.
- Walter Stekler
Subjects
- Worcester (Mass.)
- Jewish refugees--England--London.
- United States--Emigration and immigration.
- Jewish refugees--United States.
- Jewish refugees--Australia.
- Holocaust victims--Austria--Vienna.
- Tailors.
- Vienna (Austria).
- Jewish refugees--China--Shanghai.
- London (England)
- Shanghai (China)
Genre
- Photographs.
- Document
- Correspondence.