Heilpern family papers

Consists of two German passports (Reisepässe): one issued to Felix Heilpern on May 15, 1939, and one, in a leather passport protector, issued to Hans Heilpern on May 5, 1939. Also includes a pre-war copyprint of Hans and Sidonie Heilpern, and a family photograph of the Heilpern family taken before Felix left for the United States as one of the "50 children" with the assistance of the Kraus family. Also includes a copy of Felix's birth certificate, and an original document issued by the commandant of Buchenwald regarding Hans' internment in the camp. Felix Heilpern was born on March 8, 1927, in Vienna, Austria, to Hans Heilpern (b. January 22, 1897 in Vienna) and Sidonie Heilpern. He had two older sisters, Gertrude and Wilhelmine, and a younger brother, John, who was born after the family emigrated to the United States. In May 1938, Hans was arrested and briefly interned in Buchenwald. In May 1939, the Heilperns were able to send Felix to the United States with the assistance of an American couple, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, who had come to Vienna to assist 50 children to come to America. The rest of the family was able to emigrate in August 1939. They settled in New York.