Abe Weiss papers

Abe Weiss papers 

Abe Weiss papers 

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The Abe Weiss papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, and restitution papers documenting Abe Weiss from Kołomyja, his relocation to Leipzig, and his immigration to the United States as well as his family members who remained in Kołomyja, Leipzig, Zbąszyń, Kolno, and Białystok and perished in the Holocaust. A photo album includes photographs from his visit to the Berlin Olympics. Biographical materials include photocopies of Abe Weiss’ Polish and German birth certificates, wedding announcements for Regina Nachbar and Chaim Dudowicz, Red Star Line and S.S. Gerolstein travel receipts and passenger lists and additional records documenting Weiss’ immigration, Abe Weiss’ marriage certificate, certificates recognizing Abe Weiss for selling war bonds, Rosh Hashanah cards and Nachbar stationery documenting the Nachbar family, and family histories composed by Abe Weiss’s daughter, Barbara Jacobson. The correspondence series contains letters and postcards exchanged among Abe Weiss and his relatives following his immigration to the United States while his family remained in Leipzig, Kołomyja, Zbąszyń, Kolno, and Białystok. Correspondence from Kołomyja documents Selig Nachbar, Rachel and Leyb Koch, and Jacob Nachbar in Kołomyja; correspondence from Leipzig documents Salomon, Ethel, and Beata Nachbar, Marcus Birnberg, and Regina and Chaim Dudowicz; and correspondence from Zbąszyń, Kolno, and Białystok further documents Regina and Chaim Dudowicz. The letters and postcards primarily report on anti-Semitic harassment, efforts to emigrate from Germany and Poland, Salomon Nachbar’s and Max Birnberg’s imprisonment in concentration camps, Chaim Dudowicz’s confinement in a refugee camp, and Regina Dudowicz’s efforts to rejoin her husband. Loose photographs include images of Weiss and Nachbar family life in Kołomyja and Leipzig, and the photo albums contain photographs of Abe Weiss at the Berlin Olympics and in the United States, with his family and friends in Leipzig, and vacationing elsewhere in Germany. The restitution papers primarily consist of correspondence between Abe Weiss and the United Restitution Organization (URO) documenting his attempts to gain restitution for loss of fortune and property, damage to professional development, and insurance payments, especially in relation to his brother, Salomon Nachbar, and the Nachbar clothing factory and for his own emigration costs during the Holocaust. 

The Abe Weiss papers are arranged as four series: I. Biographical materials, approximately 1920-1945, 1996, II. Correspondence, 1935-1941, III. Photographic materials, approximately 1930-1940, IV. Restitution papers, 1930-1978