United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The Silberman family papers are arranged as two series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1938-1951, Series 2: Photograph albums, approximately 1920-1937
Silberman family collection
boxes oversize boxes book enclosures 4 3 3
Curt C. Silberman (1908-2002) was born Kurt Silbermann in Würzburg, Germany, to Ida Rosenbusch Silbermann (1884-approximately 1944) and Adolf Silbermann (1866-1943). He studied law in Berlin, Munich, and Würzburg, where he received his JD in 1931. After the Nazis assumed power in 1933, he could no longer practice law, but he was granted permission to assist prospective émigrés in economic and legal matters interpreting the stringent currency legislation. In 1935, he married Else Kleemann (1910-2001), who was born in Würzburg to Therese Engländer Kleemann (1881-approximately 1943) and Hermann Kleemann (1860-1937). Curt and Else immigrated to the United States in 1938. Else’s brother Justin immigrated to Palestine, and her sister Cäcilie Marx immigrated to Australia in 1938. Her mother Therese was deported to Auschwitz in June 1943 and killed there. Adolf and Ida Silbermann were sent to Theresienstadt in September 1942. Adolf apparently died there in January 1943, and Ida apparently died at Auschwitz in 1944. Curt received a JD from Rutgers University in 1947 and practiced international private law in New Jersey. He represented clients in restitution claims and large German corporations in the US and became an honorary trustee of the Leo Baeck Institute New York in 1962. He also held leadership positions at the American Federation of Jews from Central Europe, the Jewish Philanthropic Fund of 1933, the Council of Jews from Germany, and the Research Foundation for Jewish Immigration. Ida’s mother was Mariane Süsser Rosenbusch, and her aunt was Elise Süsser (1857-1943), who was killed at Theresienstadt. Therese’s parents were Simon and Clara Engländer. Therese‘s siblings were Jacob Englander, Rosalie Gartner, Max Engländer, William Engländer, David Engländer, and Sophie Engländer. A woman named Maria (Marie) Beck worked for Therese. Hermann’s sister was Wilhelmine (Mina) Kleemann. Betty Kleemann Neuhaus (b. 1870) also lived in Würzburg and was deported to Theresienstadt and killed in 1942.
The Silbermann family papers comprise correspondence and photographs documenting Curt and Else Silbermann and their families from Würzburg, Germany, before, during, and after the Holocaust. Extensive family correspondence to Curt and Else Silbermann, who had immigrated to the United States, relates news about life in Nazi and postwar Germany. Six photograph albums document Else Kleeman Silbermann and her family in prewar Germany. Correspondence primarily consists of letters to Curt and Else Silberman in the United States from his parents, Adolf and Ida Silbermann, and her mother, Therese Kleemann, in Würzburg between 1938 and 1943. Adolf and Ida’s letters often include messages from Ida’s mother, Mariane Rosenbusch, and her aunt, Elise Süsser. Therese’s letters often include messages from relatives Betty Kleemann Neuhaus, Wilhelmine (Mina) Kleemann, and Rosalie Gartner as well as from a woman named Maria (Marie) Beck who worked for Therese. Red Cross form letters from 1942 and 1943 demonstrate the increasing difficulty of communication after the United States entered World War II and the Holocaust progressed. Additional prewar and wartime correspondents include Else’s brother Justin, sister Cäcilie, and other family members and friends. The letters provide reports about family health and news of friends, request updates, and document the increasingly dangerous situation in Germany and efforts to leave. Postwar correspondents describe survival during the Holocaust, offer gratitude for packages Curt and Else sent to family members and friends, provide update about postwar life, and include information about what happened to Curt and Else’s parents and others during the Holocaust. Postwar correspondence also includes letters from Curt to Else during his visit to Germany on restitution business. Six photograph albums contain photographs depicting Else Kleeman Silberman and her family and friends at home and on vacation throughout Germany between approximately 1920 and 1937. A handful of loose images depict Curt Silberman and the gravestone of Else’s father, Herman Kleemann.