Louise Wegweiser Kruk papers

The collection primarily consists of post-war photographs documenting the experiences of Louise Wegweiser Kruk, originally of Tłuste, Poland, in the Föhrenwald, Rivoli, and Turin displaced persons camps. Also included is the marriage certificate for Louise and Martin Wegweiser, whom she married in Turin in 1947; and an O.R.T. diploma for Louise received in 1949. Louise Wegweiser Kruk (1928-2018) was born Louise Gärtner on 24 April 1928 in Tłuste, Poland to Natan (b. 1894) and Rachel (née Mitzelmacher. B. 1900) Gärtner. She had one brother. During the Holocaust, she was a forced laborer and was liberated in March 1945 by the Soviet Red Army. After she was liberated, she and her brother returned to Tłuste to search for their parents. They would learn later that both parents perished during the Holocaust. Louise went to the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp around May 1946. In February 1947 she went to the Rivoli DP camp in Italy, and then the Turin DP camp. She married Martin Wegweiser (born Mayer Wegweiser to Kalman and Helena Wegweiser, b. 1924) in Turin in 1947. They immigrated to the United States aboard the USS General C. C. Ballou in 1949. She later married Leon Kruk (1924-2010).