Fred and Ruth Cohen papers

Fred (Fritz) Cohen (1914-1981) was born on October 12, 1914 in Eschwege, Germany to David and Martha Cohen. David was born on October 15, 1988 near Leer, Germany to Benjamin and Eva Cohen, and Martha was born in 1888 in Eschwege, Germany to Michael and Fanny Katzenstein. In 1938, Fred married Ruth Cohen (née Loewenstein). Ruth was born on December 27, 1912 in Netra, Germany to Sigfried (d. 1917?) and Bertha Loewenstein and had two sisters, Lotte (b. 1914) and Edith. Fred was a farmer and wholesaler in Eschwege on a farm owned by Sigfried. In 1936, Fred was sponsored by a New York City subway contractor as part of a Jewish sponsorship program and immigrated to the United States. Two years later, Ruth was sponsored by Julius Levey, a Baltimore jeweler, and also immigrated to the United States. Siegfried obtained a visa through the lottery system of the US Consulate in Stuttgart and Lotte immigrated to Palestine via Holland in 1939. Bertha, Edith, and Martha perished in a concentration camp. Fred and Ruth had a son, Steven (b. 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland). The Fred and Ruth Cohen papers include biographical material, photographs, photo albums, and a personal narrative documenting the experiences of Fred and Ruth Cohen’s families in pre-war Germany and their immigration to the United States. Documents include statements of birth for David and Martha Cohen, marriage documentation for David and Martha, and a copy of a death certificate for Benjamin Cohen. Photographs and albums mainly include pre-war photographs of Ruth and her family in Germany, including in Stuttgart. Also included is an early 1990s handwritten personal narrative by Lotte, Ruth’s sister, recounting her childhood and her family's wartime experiences.