Copyright Holder: Ms. Bertha Strauss
Clara Dreyfuss (1900-1942) was born Clara Pollak on 17 February 1900 in Olnhausen, Germany. She married Wilhelm Dreyfuss and they had two children: Bertha (later Bertha Strauss, b. 1936) and Leo (b. 1937). In October 1940 Clara and Wilhelm were deported from Karlsruhe to the Gurs concentration camp in France. In September 1942 they were deported to Rivesaltes and Drancy and then Auschwitz on 16 September 1942 where they perished. Their children were hidden by Œuvre de secours aux enfants (France) (OSE) in France. Later the children were smuggled to Switzerland, and after World War II, the orphaned children immigrated to the United States. They were raised by Clara’s sister Recha Reutlinger and her husband Wilhelm Reutlinger. Wilhelm Dreyfuss (1898-1942) was born on 25 November 1898 in Malsch, Germany. He had at least one sister, Irma (later Irma Klanfield). He married Clara Pollak and they had two children: Bertha (later Bertha Strauss, b. 1936) and Leo (b. 1937). During Kristallnacht Wilhelm was arrested and imprisoned in Dachau. In October 1940 Wilhelm and Clara were deported from Karlsruhe to the Gurs concentration camp in France. In September 1942 they were deported to Rivesaltes and Drancy and then Auschwitz on 16 September 1942 where they perished. Their children were hidden by Œuvre de secours aux enfants (France) (OSE) in France. Later the children were smuggled to Switzerland, and after World War II, the orphaned children immigrated to the United States. They were raised by Clara’s sister Recha Reutlinger and her husband Wilhelm Reutlinger.
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Contains letters written between December 1940 and September 1942 by Clara and Wilhelm Dreyfuss in concentration camps in France, addressed to Clara's sister and her husband, Recha and Wilhelm Reutlinger, in New York City. The letters contain information about the conditions in the camps; the Dreyfuss's experiences in Gurs, Les Milles, and Rivesaltes; and their unsuccessful quest to leave Europe. Each handwritten letter is accompanied by a German transcription and an English translation.
Arrangement is chronological
Clara and Wilhelm Dreyfuss letters
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum