Herbst family papers
Extent and Medium
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Creator(s)
- Manny Herbst
Biographical History
Manny Herbst was born Manuel Herbst on June 20, 1930 in Vienna, Austria to Adolf Herbst and Sara Herbst. Adolf and Sara married in 1925, and Manny had two siblings, Samuel Bernard Herbst (went by Bernard, 1926-2019) and Silva Herbst (nicknamed Silvi, later Silvia Gottlieb, 1929-2019). His father, Adolf Herbst (later Aaron Herbst, 1882-1964), was born on February 7, 1882 in Romania to Schmiel Herbst and Süssel Herbst (née Merdinger). Adolf had two sisters, Rose Merdinger and Hennie Herbst (Hennie Luster, 1884-1944). His mother, Sara Herbst (1901-1942) was born Sara Weintraub on August 10, 1901 in Terebovlia, Poland (Terebovlia, Ukraine) to Manek Weintraub and Schifre Weintraub (née Weinergrod). She had two sisters, Berta Weintraub (Berta Meiseles), and Schprintza Weintraub (Schprintza or Sprinza Biller), and one brother, David Meisels (d. 1939). After Kristallnacht in November 1938, Manny’s family began planning for emigration from Vienna. Sara’s sister Sprinza immigrated to the United States in early 1939, and her family helped get sponsorship for Manny and his siblings to come to the U.S. They arrived in the United States in April 1940 aboard the SS Saturnia. Manny’s parents made arrangements to go to Romania, but Sara decided to remain in Vienna and wait for her U.S. visa. She was deported from Vienna to Izbica transit camp on June 14, 1942. She was then deported and murdered at Sobibór killing center. Her sister Berta was also killed in the Holocaust. Adolf left Vienna in September 1940 for Romania where he and other Jewish refugees boarded a ship to Haifa, Palestine in October 1940. They were denied entry by the British authorities, and deported to Mauritius, then a British colony. Adolf remained in a refugee camp on the island until 1945, and was able to correspond with his children in the United States. He immigrated to Palestine in 1945 and the United States around 1955. Manny later married Miriam Dashow (b. 1932), and they had two daughters, Ellen (b. 1956) and Susan (b. 1960). His brother Samuel married Paula DeGraff (1934-2021), and his sister Silvia married Herman Gotlieb.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Manuel (Manny) Herbst
Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2022 by Manuel (Manny) Herbst.
Scope and Content
The Herbst family papers document the prewar, wartime, and postwar experiences of Manny Herbst, his siblings Bernard Herbst and Silvia Herbst, and his parents Adolf Herbst and Sara Herbst (née Weintraub), including the siblings’ immigration to the United States in 1940, Adolf’s attempt to get to Palestine, and subsequent deportation to Mauritius in 1940, and Sara’s deportation from Vienna to Izbica transit camp in 1942. Biographical material includes identification papers, immigration paperwork, and family genealogy materials. The bulk of the collection consists of letters sent from Adolf in Mauritius and Palestine to his children in the U.S. There are also six letters sent from Sara in Vienna to her children in the U.S. prior to her deportation and murder, 1940-1941. Additionally, there is a 1946 letter to Bernard from Lucie, a neighbor of the family in Vienna, describing Sara’s deportation in 1942.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged as two series. Series 1. Biographical material, 1925-circa 2000 Series 2. Correspondence, 1940-1955
Subjects
- Palestine.
- Vienna (Austria)
- Holocaust survivors.
- Refugees, Jewish--Mauritius.
- Mauritius.
- United States--Emigration and immigration.
- Jews--Austria--Vienna.
Genre
- Letters.
- Document