Loeb family papers

Hans (Harry) Otto Loeb was born on May 1, 1926 in Hamburg, Germany to Richard and Olga Loeb. His brother, Eric Stefan Loeb is 4 ½ years older. Their father Richard worked as a hide dealer. He died of a heart attack in January 1928. The family continued to live in Hamburg after Richard’s death. Hans attended a public kindergarten and grammar school before attended the Talmu Torah Schule, which was divided between the Orthodox and Liberal students. Harry saw himself as one of the Liberal students. In April 1937, Eric obtained an American student visa and left Germany to attend a prep school in New Jersey. In 1938, Olga and Hans moved to Frankfurt, Germany where Hans attended school and Olga trained as a laboratory technician. On Kristallnacht, November 1938, Olga placed makeup on Hans and when the Nazis entered their house, she claimed he had the measles. In 1939, Olga and Hans obtained passage on the MS St. Louis. Prior to leaving for Cuba, Hans had an early Bar Mitzvah and the ceremony was conducted by a Rabbi in secret. The Loeb family stayed in a first class cabin on the ship. While in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, Hans’ Uncle Ludwig and Aunt Anna visited by boat. After being denied entry to Cuba and the United States, the Loeb family eventually disembarked in Holland where they lived in an attic room with four other people. As payment for their stay, Olga cooked and cleaned. On January 24, 1940, Olga and Hans arrived in New York from Rotterdam and were met by Eric and other family members. Hans continued his education in New York. He enlisted in the army in 1944 and was sent to the front in France. He also acted as a translator. Hans visited Buchenwald concentration camp in attempt to locate family who had been living in Holland but none had survived the Holocaust. On a 30-day furlough Hans traveled to the Catskills and met his future wife, Marion. They settled in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania where he learned the leather business from a family friend. Hans and Marion have two children, Richard and Catherine, and four grandchildren, Sandra, Michael, David and Lauren.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Harry O. Loeb. In memory of the St. Louis passengers who perished.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Harry Loeb

Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Harry Loeb donated the Loeb family papers to the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1997 and 1999. The collections accessioned as 1997.74 and 1999.229 have been incorporated into this collection.