The Schönberger family papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, immigration files, photographic materials, printed materials, and French internment camp songs documenting the Schönberger family of Vienna; Helene and Bianka Schönberger’s immigratin to the United States aboard the Hansa in March 1939; and Moritz Schönberger’s voyage aboard the St. Louis, return to Europe, internment in French concentration camps, and immigration to the United States in 1942. Biographical materials include identification papers, birth certificates, and school, employment, medical and military records documenting the Schönberger family. Correspondence consists of a postcard from the St. Louis and a letter Moritz Schönberger wrote his family from Les Milles. Immigration files include telegrams from Moritz Schönberger aboard the St. Louis and in French internment camps; MS St. Louis travel documents; correspondence with the American Consulate in Marseille, the State Department, and the Department of Immigration and Naturalization; affidavits; money orders; and a menu from the Hansa. Photographic materials include Moritz Schönberger’s photograph album from aboard the St. Louis, a large Schönberger family photograph album, and loose photographs of the Schönberger family and examples of Schönberger’s advertisement work. Printed materials consist of and 1939 and 1967 articles about the St. Louis and 1948 and 1949 advertisements for Schönberger’s sign studio business. Songs consist of lyrics to St. Cyprien camp songs “Ich kann sie nicht sehen, die Pyreneen” and “Kamaraden” as well as to Hans Heimler’s “Die Erfüllung.” Poetry consists of a Christmas poem written at Gurs, a poem of welcome, and a poetry book full of little poems and autographs from friends, teachers, and family members.
The Schönberger family papers are arranged as six series: I. Biographical materials, 1887-1945, II. Correspondence, 1939-1942, III. Immigration files, 1939-1946, IV. Photographic materials, approximately 1920-1947, V. Printed materials, 1939-1967, VI. Songs, approximately 1939-1949
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Moritz Schönberger (1887-1956) was born in Sárvár, Hungary, to Herman Schönberger and Julie Neuman Schönberger and established his career in advertisement painting first in Frankfurt am Main and then in Vienna. He was forced to sell his business following the Anschluss, and his German-born wife, Helene (nee Rosenthal, 1886-1973), and their daughter Bianka (1921-1981), immigrated to the United States aboard the Hansa in March 1939. Moritz tried to follow via Cuba aboard the MS St. Louis but was returned to Europe and disembarked in Belgium. He was arrested as an enemy alien in 1940 and sent to internment camps in France including St. Cyprien, Gurs, and Les Milles. With his family’s help, he immigrated to the United States in October 1942 and changed his name to Morris.
Schönberger family papers
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