Ruth H. Windmuller papers

Ruth H. Windmuller papers 

Ruth H. Windmuller papers 

folders oversize folder 4 1 

The Ruth H. Windmuller papers primarily consist of song lyrics and poems written by children at the Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants children’s homes Villa Helvetia at Montmorency and Château Montintin near Château‐Chervix. The collection also includes a program for a children’s performance at Villa Helvetia, and a clipping and a flyer documenting two children Windmuller knew at Montmorency or Montintin. The lyrics and poems are set to well‐known children’s songs and use clever words and rhymes to describe staff, events, activities, work, and recreation at the children’s homes at Villa Helvetia, Les Tourelles, Eaubonne, and Château Montintin; the difficult planning required to emigrate; and the children’s efforts to learn English. The notebook of song lyrics also includes a postcard of Villa Helvetia, a drawing of Château Montintin with a note to Windmuller on the back, her Château Montintin youth club membership card, and a couple of drawings. The program documents an April 1940 children’s performance at a school in Eaubonne entitled “Cirque Supermedrano, le plus grand du monde,” referenced by Windmuller on the second page of her notebook. The clipping, ''The Boy Who Survived Auschwitz,'' describes Ernst Koppel (using the name Emil Geisler), a former resident of Villa Helvetia who survived Auschwitz. The art gallery flyer documents Henny Marks (Henny Bienstock), another former resident of OSE children’s homes whom Ruth Windmuller remembered. 

The Ruth H. Windmuller papers are arranged as a single series: I. Ruth H. Windmuller papers, 1939-1967