Oskar Politzer papers

Oskar Politzer (1887-1939) was born on January 11, 1887 in Vienna, Austria to Katharina and Ludwig Politzer. He married Maria “Mizi” Berger (b. 2/14/1887) and they had two daughters, Eva (b. 6/12/1915) and Hedi (later Hedi Pope b. 3/18/1920). Politzer worked as a businessman in foreign firms manufacturing and importing bathroom and plumbing equipment. Politzer enrolled in English and Spanish language courses in anticipation of emigrating to either the United States, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, or Colombia. On the night of Kristallnacht, November 10, 1938, Politzer and members of his language class were rounded-up, detained in an old Army barracks without food and water, and sent to the Dachau concentration camp. Politzer arrived at Dachau on November 15, 1938 and was assigned the prison number 24877. The family was later informed by an unnamed witness that Politzer died a “natural death” at the camp hospital after becoming sick with possible pneumonia. Politzer died on January 24, 1939, fourteen days after his 52nd birthday. The Oskar Politzer papers contain correspondence written by Politzer to his family while imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp from November 1938 until his death in January 1939. The collection also contains Politzer’s birth certificate from Vienna, Austria, his death certificate from Dachau, and two receipts for his possessions presumably given to him at Dachau. The Oskar Politzer papers contain correspondence written by Politzer to his family while imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp from November 1938 until his death in January 1939. The collection also contains Politzer’s birth certificate from Vienna, Austria, his death certificate from Dachau, and two receipts for his possessions given to him at Dachau. The correspondence dated November 1938 through January 1939 includes three postcards and a handwritten letter which includes a transcription. A brief narrative explanation of Politzer’s wartime experiences and the eventual emigration of some of Politzer’s family members, written by his daughter Hedi Pope, is typed on an envelope that Politzer sent from Dachau. Two receipts for his possessions given to him at Dachau are also included in the collection.