Arranged by subject, and then chronologically.
The collection comprises two separate deposits from the family Löwenstein in 1988. The first (643/1/1) consists of correspondence between Heinz Werner Löwenstein and his parents, 1935-1940. The letters provide an interesting account of the difficulties encountered by a young immigrant trying to make his way in South Africa as well as of the life led by Jewish people in pre-war Berlin. For obvious reasons the letters make hardly any reference to the political situation and the real hardships and dangers of the parents' lives are hidden. The second deposit consists of correspondence from Heinz Werner Löwenstein to Hans and Milly Hirsch, 1941-1943, medical cards, photographs and medals.
5 folders, 133 photos
Open
Papers of Heinz Werner Löwenstein
Heinz Werner Löwenstein was the son Helene Charlotte (neé Alexander, 1878-1942) and Georg Löwenstein (1877-1942). Both his parents were deported from Berlin to the Riga Ghetto in January 1942 and perished in the Holocaust. Heinz had trained and worked for two years in a civil engineering firm in Berlin before emigrating to South Africa in 1935. He joined the South African Army in 1941 and saw action in North Africa. He was captured by the Italian forces in 1942 and interned in several Prisoner of War camps before being released in 1943. After the war, he settled in Johannesburg.