United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Frank Shurman (1915-1999) was born Fritz Schürmann in Hildesheim, Germany to Willy and Alma Schürmann. His father owned a custom-tailoring business. After his completion of school, Frank apprenticed at various apprenticeships before working at his father’s firm. Frank joined the German-Jewish nationalist group, Deutscher Vortrupp, whose activities included volunteering for service in the German army. Frank enlisted in 1935, but was refused due to his Jewish background. In May of 1938, the Gestapo forced the liquidation of his father’s business. In August of the same year, Frank met Agusta Rahr Hamilton through a family friend. Despite barely knowing Frank or his family, she agreed to provide them with affidavits of support for visas to the United States. During the Kristallnacht, Frank and his father were arrested and sent to Buchenwald, where they were incarcerated for several weeks. In June of 1939, Frank moved to England where he volunteered at the Lord Kitchener transit camp while he waited for his American visa. He moved to the United States in May 1940, where he settled in Chicago while he assisted in arranging for his parents to immigrate. He succeeded in this in March 1941, and eventually joined the U.S. Army in 1943, where he served with the Intelligence Corps as a translator. In 1945, Frank married Margery Moses, who at the time was serving with the U.S. Coast Guard. Frank spent his years after the war as a clothing designer. He also established the Agusta Rahr Hamilton Fund of the Jewish Studies program at Wellesley College.
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The Frank Shurman collection is arranged as a single series.
The Frank Shurman collection contains primarily photocopies of documents collected by Frank Shurman, regarding his family and the Holocaust. Shurman, was arrested and imprisoned in Buchenwald before his family received visas to immigrate to the United States. He later enlisted in the United States Army. Documents include a biography of his uncle Albert Schürmann, and correspondence and translations from his uncle Albert to his uncle Otto prior to Albert’s deportation. Other documents include scrapbook pages and a copy of a speech Frank gave at his cousin’s Bar Mitzvah, a biography of Albert Schürmann, and a copy of Otto Schürmann’s manuscript. The contents of the Frank Shurman collection are primarily photocopies of documents collected by Frank Shurman regarding his family’s experience through the Holocaust. Included in the collection are a biography written by Frank on his uncle Albert Schürmann, and a speech Frank gave at his cousin Walter’s Bar Mitzvah. Other documents include the original correspondence between his uncles Albert and Otto, as well as the translations for the letters. Also included are scrapbook pages, newspaper articles, and items related to Frank’s birthplace of Hildesheim, Germany.
Frank Shurman collection