United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Wilhelm Stahl (1890 - ?) was a non-Jewish German born on April 18, 1890 in Sulzheim, Germany to “Marg.” [Schneider] Stahl (d. 1926) and Christoph Stahl (d. 1924). Stahl served in World War I and was awarded the Iron Cross in 1916, the Honorable Cross in 1934, and the Wound Badge in 1937. Stahl was discharged from the army on December 8, 1944. Stahl, who lost an eye in during the war, was awarded a pension in 1951. Stahl also worked as a school custodian in Frankfurt, Germany. Walter Lewalter (1910 - ?) was a non-Jewish German born on November 24, 1910. During World War II, Walter Lewalter was a member of the Nazi party. Postwar, Lewalter worked as an engineer on the Autobahn.
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The Wilhelm Stahl and Walter Lewalter papers are arranged as three series: • Series 1: Biographical materials, 1910-1951 • Series 2: Financial materials, 1928-1939, 1956 • Series 3: Photographs and postcards, 1941-1943, undated
The collection contains German military documents relating to the military careers of non-Jewish Germans Wilhelm Stahl and Walter Lewalter. Also included are financial documents relating to the forced sale of Jewish assets in Frankfurt, Germany, postcards, as well as photographs of Wilhelm Stahl and family, Walter Lewalter, and Warsaw, Poland. The biographical materials in this collection are organized into two subseries of materials relating to Wilhelm Stahl and Walter Lewalter. Materials relating to Wilhelm Stahl include a military identification booklet, 1910-1919; a passport “Wehrpaß,” 1944; a document from the city of Sulzheim which attests that while serving in the military Stahl was not investigated or penalized, February 11, 1913; a notification document and envelope which states the political cleansing process or denazification process for Stahl has stopped, April 27, 1949; a document awarding Stahl a pension, June 30, 1951. Also included are documents relating to Stahl’s work as a school custodian in Frankfurt, Germany, 1929-1941. Certificates awarded to Stahl include the Iron Cross, 1916, the Honorable Cross, 1934, the Wound Badge, 1937, and a discharge certificate, December 8, 1944. Biographical materials relating to Walter Lewalter include a Nazi party identification book, October 20, 1938, and postwar documents relating to his pension, work for the Hessian Office for Road Construction, and compensation for household damage that occurred during the war. Financial materials include an invoice for silverware sold to Stahl from W. Jandorf Silberwaren, February 28, 1929, and documents relating to the forced sale of Jewish assets in Frankfurt, Germany, sold by Herman Scheuer to Anna Schroeder in 1939. Photographs include an envelope labeled “Warschau” with five black and white photographs of Warsaw, Poland, undated; a black and white unidentified photograph of two men and three women seated behind a desk with a portrait of Adolf Hitler on the wall behind them, January 30, 1942; a colorized portrait photograph and two black and white photographs of Walter Lewalter in his Wehrmacht uniform, undated; and two envelopes stamped with “Zaklad Fotograficzny T. Kolaczkowski Al. Jerozolimeskie 41 m. 13.” Postcards include a photograph postcard of Wilhelm Stahl and family, undated, and four blank postcards with images of Hütter’s Hotel, Napoleon Square in Warsaw, Poland, and the Hochwaldbaude in Oybin, Germany. A postcard of Höxter, Germany with a handwritten message is addressed to Elisabeth Lewalter, from Walter Lewalter, October 14, 1943.
Wilhelm Stahl and Walter Lewalter papers