Nora Orchan collection

The Nora Orchan collection includes a autograph book that Nora carried with her during her emigration with her siblings from Germany to Israel in 1938. Autographs and entries date 1935-1941 and include poems and drawings as well as diary entries, perhaps by Nora. The collections also includes pre-war photographs of Nora and her family. Nora (Naomi) Orchan (1921-1981) was born in Euskirchen, Germany to Adolph and Bertha Orchan and had an older brother and sister. Her father owned a business selling iron and auto parts and her mother helped run the business. In October 1938, Nora and her family were deported to an unknown village. Nora was able to escape and went to France, then Germany, and finally Palestine in 1938. She was in contact with her parents through the Red Cross until they were sent to Łódź and then the Lublin ghetto where they died. Nora’s brother and sister also made it to Palestine. In 1942 Nora married Nachman Glasel and they had two daughters, including Edna Kirshenbaum. They immigrated to the United States in 1957 and settled in New York.