United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Therese (Tesi) Wertheim (née Mayer, 1896-1982) was born in Stuttgart, Germany to Max Wetheim (1865-1950) and Clara Mayer (d. 1927) and had one sister, Ruth (b. 1906). Ruth, her husband Adolf Sichel, and their son Martin immigrated to the United States in 1937. After Kristallnacht in 1938, Max immigrated to the United States with the help of Ruth and her family. Tesi married Ernest Wertheim (1883-1956) and they had one son, Martin (1921-1941). After their marriage they moved to Enschede, Netherlands. Martin was killed at Mauthausen concentration camp in 1941. After the war, Max returned to Enschede to live with Tesi and Ernst.
Copyright Holder: Dr. Martin Sichel
folder 1
The collection is arranged as a single series.
The collection consists of a photocopy of a journal, written in German, by Therese (Tesi) Wertheim, originally of Stuttgart, Germany. The journal was written immediately post-war and describes Tesi's experiences between May 10, 1940, when the Germans invaded Enschede in the Netherlands, and April 3, 1945, when the town was liberated by the Canadians. In her journal she describes the arrest of her son, Martin, who was killed at Mauthausen in October 1941, anti-Jewish legislation, life in in the underground in Enschede, and the aerial attacks on the city. The collection also includes an English translation, completed by Tesi's nephew, Dr. Martin Sichel, and Dr. Sichel's family history in which he describes immigrating to the United States from Stuttgart in 1937.
Therese Wertheim diary