us-005578-irn501142
type: RecordSet
has beginning date: 1885-01-01
has end date: 1945-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had identifier: 2
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: 1138
has or had subject: 530
has or had subject: 1141
has or had subject: 701
has record set type: Item
history: Irene Schlesinger (later Woods Hofstein, 1921-2016) was born in Berlin, Germany, to Kurt Joseph (1885-1946) and Erna Meier Pelz (1897-1991) Schlesinger. Kurt was a lumber broker and the son of Max (1853-1898) and Harriet Holz (1862-1929) Schlesinger. Erna Meier (1897-1991) was born in Berlin, to Hermann (1868-1904) and Jenny Gruenberg (1874-1944) Meier. In 1906, Jenny married Adolf Pelz (1865-1935), a lumber broker with an office on the Unter den Linden Boulevard. In 1924, Erna and Kurt divorced. Erna took Irene with her and moved into her parents’ home near the zoo. The family lived comfortably and employed several staff members. Irene regularly attended synagogue with her grandparents, and they were culturally Jewish, celebrating the high holidays and lighting Shabbat candles. Kurt only saw Irene on Sundays and during vacation. In 1925, Irene’s aunt, Ruth, married doctor Arnold Hirsch Esrati (1901-1959), and they had one son, Stephen Hirsch (b. 1927). In 1929, Kurt married Christine (Christal) Dahlhausen (1900-?), a Christian woman, and the couple moved to Cologne. Irene attended local public schools in Berlin. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany. Irene’s father Kurt and her Aunt Ruth and Uncle Arnold, were concerned about Adolf Hitler’s policies and decided to emigrate. Kurt and Christine immigrated to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ruth, Arnold, and their son Stephan immigrated to Palestine. In 1934, Irene had to be removed from public school because she was being harassed for being Jewish. She was sent to a private Jewish school in Hilversum, near Amsterdam. In April 1935, Irene was called back home so that her dying grandfather, Adolf, could say goodbye. Irene stayed in Berlin and attended Waldschule Kalski, a private Jewish school. In September, the German authorities passed the Nuremberg Laws, which stripped Jewish people of their rights and banned them from many public venues. In 1936, Irene left the Kalski School to attend a conven…
history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
identifier: irn501142
record resource extent: folder 1
record resource structure: Collection is arranged chronologically
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Contains birth certificates, passports and identification cards bearing photographs, and marriage certificates pertaining to Erna Meier (later Schlesinger Summerfield) and her daughter Irene Schlesinger's (later Woods Hofstein) lives in Germany and their immigration to the United States in 1939.
title: Klapholz and Schlesinger family papers