Harry Lerner (1913-1992) was an attorney in Omaha, NE, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and became director of UNRRA Team 502 after the war, taking responsibility for two Jewish Displaced Persons centers in Stuttgart (Stuttgart West and Degerloch). In 1946, he married Clare Lerner (nee Smocleare, 1913-1999), who was born in London and came to Germany as a volunteer worker for the Jewish Relief Unit. Mr. Lerner was subsequently assigned to UNRRA Teams 570, 622, and 1045, and the couple worked at Hof, Rehau, and Vilseck. Harry brought Clare to the United States in 1951. Clare Lerner (nee Smocleare, 1913-1999) was born in London. She served in Germany as a volunteer worker for the Jewish Relief Unit, and she married Harry Lerner (1913-1992) in 1946. The couple worked at Hof, Rehau, and Vilseck. Clare moved to the United States with Harry in 1951.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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The Harry and Clare Lerner papers are arranged as five series: I. Biographical materials, 1948-1950, II. Correspondence, 1945-1961 (bulk 1945-1947), III. Printed materials, 1945-1993 (bulk 1945-1948), IV. Reports and memoranda, 1946-1947, V. Subject files, 1945-1946
The Harry and Clare Lerner papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, printed materials, reports, memoranda, and subject files documenting Harry Lerner’s work as UNRRA director of Displaced Persons centers in Stuttgart, Hof, Rehau, and Vilseck, Clare’s work alongside him, and their marriage. Biographical materials include assignment and travel orders issued to Harry and Clare Lerner and Clare Lerner’s Occupational Force Travel Permit. Correspondence consists primarily of letters written by Harry and Clare Lerner at the Stuttgart and Vilseck DP centers to Harry’s family describing their work organizing the camps, distributing supplies, and aiding survivors and sharing the news of their own marriage. This series also includes correspondence with other UNRRA officials, American aid organizations, and a former DP. Printed materials include clippings about DPs and UNRRA, DP publications in Hof and Stuttgart, a history of UNRRA, a history of the Vilna ghetto, and a photocopy of a reprint of a serialized article about an Auschwitz survivor. Reports and memoranda include information about the interest of DPs in emigration, an Army order against accepting clandestine refugees from Eastern Europe, the employment of DPs, and a 1947 report on DPs in the American zone of Germany. Subject files include reports and statements documenting a March 1946 riot at the Stuttgart DP center and invitations and invitations and a memorandum documenting funeral and memorial ceremonies and a dance.
Harry and Clare Lerner papers