Greenbaum family papers
Extent and Medium
folders
5
Creator(s)
- Greenbaum
Biographical History
Jakob Lieb Greenbaum (1882-1942, last name also listed as Grynbaum and Grinbaum) was born in 1882 to Abram Greenbaum (b. 1862) and Hinda Greenbaum (b. 1861, née Rosenberg). He had four siblings: Simon Greenbaum (1886-1957), Dawid Greenbaum (b. 1891), Joseph Greenbaum (1895-1955), and Joshua Greenbaum (1896-1942, Shiyah Greenbaum). Jakob married Hena Ryster (1884-1942). Hena was the daughter of Johathan Ryster (1861-1913) and Rifka Genendla (1859-). She had four siblings: Abraham Ryster, Haim Ryster, Hirsh Lieb Ryster, Teveh Ryster. Jakob and Hena lived in Gąbin, Poland where he worked in agriculture, and also owned a movie theater. The couple had four children: Chaim Greenbaum (1907-1992, later Henry Greenbaum). Stas Greenbaum (1910-1942, also referred to as Stanislaw or Stan), Janek Greenbaum (1914-1985, later Albert Greenbaum), and Rozia Greenbaum (1918-2007, later Rose Greenbaum). Henry moved to France in 1927 to study engineering, but later switched to medicine. He met his wife Esther Stern (1909-1989) while he was a medical student. Henry immigrated to the United States in June 1939, but Esther had to remain in Europe. He enlisted with the United States Army in 1941, and Esther joined him in the U.S. in June 1942. They married the same month and in 1944 Henry went overseas as a doctor in Normandy. During the war he was able to maintain correspondence with his family in Poland. Their daughter Anita was born in 1945. In 1941 a ghetto was established in Gąbin. Jakob was sent to Liebenau work camp as a forced-laborer working on the autobahn. He was killed by a motorcycle driven by a German officer in 1941. Albert was also a forced-laborer and fled the camp. He was hidden by Helena Grabarek and her family in Niedzieliska, Poland. Rose fled Gąbin and was first hidden in the home of Jan Sołdański, and then with Witold and Boleslawa Ostrowski in Budy Piaseczne. She lived under the false name of Jadwiga Maciejewska. On April 17, 1942 Hena, Stas, his wife Helene (1917-1942), and their son Izho (1941-1942) were all deported from Gąbin to Chelmno where they were murdered. Albert and Rose were reunited after liberation in 1945. They first lived in Poland and then Paris. Albert married Suzanne Antonos (1917-2002), and they immigrated to the United States in 1950. Their daughter Arlene was born in 1955. Rose married Harry “Grisha” Dinerman (1915-2010), and they first immigrated to Australia, and then the United States in 1955. Their daughter Helena was born in 1949.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Anita Greenbaum Brush
The papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by Anita Greenbaum Brush, the daughter of Henry and Esther Greenbaum.
Scope and Content
The papers consist of documents, photographs, and letters documenting the prewar, wartime, and postwar experiences of the Greenbaum family, originally of Gąbin, Poland, including Henry Greenbaum’s prewar work as a physician in Poland, and his services as a wartime medic with the United States Army. Documents include a birth control calendar and pamphlet created by Henry. Correspondence consists of prewar, wartime, and postwar family correspondence in the United States and Poland. Photographs include prewar and wartime depictions of the Greenbaum family in Gąbin, including Henry, his wife Esther Stern, his parents Jakob and Hena, his siblings Stas (Stan), Rose, and Abram (Albert).
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged as five files. 1 of 5. Family correspondence, 1938-1949 2 of 5. Greenbaum, Henry: birth control calendar and pamphlet, pocket calendar, 1937 3 of 5. Bundist youth group photographs, 1927-1939 4 of 5. Greenbaum family photographs, circa 1920-1948 5 of 5. Greenbaum, Henry and Esther photographs, circa 1927-1940
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Ms. Anita Brush
People
- Greenbaum
Subjects
- Forced labor--Poland.
- France
- Gąbin (Poland)
- Physicians--Poland.
- United States
- Jewish ghettos--Poland.
- Jewish soldiers--United States.
- United States. Army--Medical personnel.
Genre
- Letters.
- Photographs.
- Document