Linden family papers

Fritz Isaac Lindenstrauss was born in 1895 in Prenzlau, Germany. During World War I (1914-1918), Fritz served in the German Army as a cannoneer. After leaving the military, he worked in several positions in department stores in Germany. In 1933, the Nazi regime came into power and pursued anti-Jewish policies. Fritz lost his job in 1934 because he was Jewish. On November. 12, 1935, he married Ruth Betty Salomon, a seamstress, who was born in Cammin, Pomerania, Germany, in 1909. The couple lived in Berlin where they had a store. A son, Kurt Joseph, was born on December 27, 1936. Their store was destroyed by Nazi Party supporters during the Kristallnacht pogrom on November 9-10, 1938. Fritz arranged for his family to flee Germany shortly afterwards. The family left Germany in April 1939 for Shanghai, China. They lived in the Hongkew ghetto, the area of Shanghai designated for Jewish refugees by the Japanese occupation authorities. The family owned and operated the Ladies Secondhand Store at 325 Wayside Road, in the same building where they lived. The war in Europe ended in May 1945 and the war in Japan ended in September. The Linden family, with sponsorship from relatives and friends, were able to emigrate to the United States in August 1947. They settled in Salt Lake City, Utah. They Americanized the family name to Linden and Fritz changed his name to Fred. Ruth, 66, died in 1967. Fred remarried in 1972. He passed away on June 6, 1997, at the age of 102. Contains biographical sketches, photonegatives, photographs, school report cards, newsletters, identification documents, certificates, clippings, affidavits, a Jewish flag, and various other documents relating to the experiences of Fred Linden (Fritz Isaac Lindenstrauss), his wife Ruth Betty Salomon Linden, and their son, Kurt Joseph Linden, during their time living as German Jewish refugees in Shanghai, China, from April 1939 to August 1947. Several documents relate to the Linden family's business, "Ladies Secondhand Store," where they provided clothing goods and tailoring services to the community. It was in the family's store that Ruth Linden sewed her "Jewish flag," circa 1945, to express her vision of the future flag of Israel.