Charles Laufer papers

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

Charles Laufer was born Sally Borgenicht on January 5, 1910, as a Polish citizen in Berlin. His parents, Löbl Laufer (also known as Löbl Borgenicht) and Sara Güttla Borgenicht (also known as Sabina Laufer), were also both Polish citizens. He attended primary and secondary school in Berlin and was apprenticed at a couple of clothing manufacturers before becoming a full employee of Friedländer & Zaduck. He was also a heavyweight boxer for the Jewish boxing club"Maccabi" He was expelled from Germany in 1938 as an alien under a new law regarding immigrants. He immigrated to the United States with his mother in December 1938. In the 1950s and 1960s Laufer pursued the West German government for restitution of a pension owed to his mother. 

Charles Laufer papers 

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The Charles Laufer papers contain biographical materials, correspondence, education and employment records, subject files, and two scrapbooks. Biographical materials related to Charles Laufer, his parents, his sister, and his wife include Polish, German, and American birth, marriage, and death certificates, divorce papers, work and travel papers, passports, and military papers. Some of the Polish documents are accompanied by German translations. Correspondence among Charles Laufer and his family and friends in Germany, England, France, and Israel primarily documents family members' efforts to emigrate. Records documenting Laufer's education and career include school certificates from the 34th Gemeindeschule and Andreas Realgymnasium; apprenticeship records and correspondence related to clothing manufacturers Theodor Priebatsch and Friedländer & Zaduck; certificates documenting first aid and welding courses; a resume; and four photographs. Subject files document Laufer's membership in the Jewish boxing club"Maccab" as a heavyweight boxer; his expulsion from Germany in 1938 as an alien and his emigration to America aboard the SS Manhattan; petition for American naturalization; his and his parents citizenship status in Poland; the transportation of family household goods from Germany to America; an opportunity to visit Berlin in 1976; and the pension Laufer's mother received as a war widow and Laufer's efforts to collect restitution of monies owed. Documents include correspondence, forms, clippings, programs, a brochure, a passenger list, and receipts. Some of the Polish documents are accompanied by German translations. The collection also includes one scrapbook containing newspaper clippings, photographs, and postcards relating to boxing, many either mentioning or depicting Laufer, and a second scrapbook containing photographs of Laufer’s family members and friends and postcards mailed between Laufer and his family and friends. 

The Charles Laufer papers are arranged as five series: 1: Biographical Materials, 1904-1956 2: Correspondence, 1937-1977 3: Education and Employment, 1916-1963 4: Subject Files, 1922-1976 5: Scrapbooks, circa 1927-1939