Emil Oettinger papers

Emil Oettinger papers 

Emil Oettinger (April 28, 1901-February 25, 1966) was born in Krumbach, Germany to Salomon (Sally, 1850-1908) and Dolce Ullmann Oettinger (1862-1934). He had three siblings (Karl, Ricka, and Lilli Oettinger) and several half-siblings from his father’s first marriage. He lived in Hamburg and married Käthe Cohn Oettinger (January 3, 1897-December 25, 1974) in July 1938. Käthe was born in in Lüneburg to John Cohn (1867-1911) and Ernestine Becker Cohn (1870-1936) and had a brother named Martin. Emil had found contact information for people with his last name in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Boston, and began writing them in July 1938 for help emigrating. Bertha Oettinger of Washington, DC, discovered that she was a distant cousin of Emil’s, and with the help of her brother, James E. Rosenthal, and her daughter and son-in-law, Dorothy and Allen DeFord, she was able to provide the necessary affidavit for Emil and Käthe. Emil also investigated leaving for England, India, and Trinidad and Tobago. The couple sailed from Hamburg aboard the SS President Harding in April 1939 and arrived in New York in May. 

Emil Oettinger papers