Kleinberg family papers

The Kleinberg family papers comprises postcards and letters written between the members of the Kleinberg family from 1939 until 1945. The majority of the correspondence is between the Kleinberg siblings and their immediate families, with the many of the letters coming from Zofia Minder in Krakow and Lola Schifeldrim, a close family friend who worked for Irena’s husband, Ferdynand Keiner and assisted Roman’s wife and daughters. Several of the postcards are written from a Soviet work camp, many of which are from Roman and Izydor. A majority of the postcards and letters have messages from multiple parties. Also included in this collection are documents pertaining specifically to Izydor Minder. Items include a notebook he used in law school, his Krakow Bar Association identification card, and a notice regarding his bar membership from 1939. Izydor’s Soviet work camp identification card and death record is also comprised in this collection, among other related material. The Kleinberg family comprises Wilhelm and Antonia Kleinberg’s six children, their spouses, and children: Zofia Minder (Izydor), Irena Kirsch (Isaak), Edward (Maria Rembisz), Paulina Keiner (Ferdynand), Juliusz (Sabina Goldfinger), and Roman (Alicia Janowska). Originally from Krakow, where Wilhelm owned a photography studio, the Kleinberg family was spread throughout Poland at the time of Nazi occupation in 1939. Nearly the entire family perished in the Holocaust. Wilhelm and Antonia were both shot by the Gestapo in 1942 after fleeing from Krakow to Rabka. Zofia, the eldest of the Kleinberg children, remained in Krakow and was deported to Stutthof, where she died in 1945. Her husband, Izydor and son, Jerzy fled to Lwow, where they lived with Roman, the youngest Kleinberg child. In 1941, they were arrested by the Gestapo and deported to the Soviet Union. Izydor and Roman both died of typhus in Uzbekistan. Jerzy survived a shooting in Uzbekistan and escaped to England, where he died from endocardia in 1945. Roman’s wife, Alicia, and daughters, Anna and Ewa survived the war with the help of a close family friends, Lola Schiffeldrinn and Helena Lgocka. The girls hid briefly on a farm until Alicia obtained fake identification papers (Kennkarte) for them. Irena, a music teacher who was widowed before the war, escaped to England by way of Romania. Edward, his wife Maria, and Paulina were the only other Kleinberg family members to survive.