Goldstein family letters

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

Heinrich Goldstein was born in Vienna, Austria in October 1903. Regina Sussman, was born in Baranov, Poland in September 1903. The two married and resided in Vienna, where they had twin boys, Bruno and Jack on March 13, 1935. Soon after the annexation of Austria by Germany, the family, along with Regina’s sister Fanni, moved to Brussels, Belgium. With the invasion of Belgium by Germany in 1940, Heinrich was sent to Gurs internment camp. The rest of the family attempted to escape to England but failed. Due to the work Heinrich was performing at the camp making coats for German soldiers to fight the Russians, the family was allowed to stay in Brussels. Later, Regina had heard of Pere Bruno Reynders, a Catholic priest who was hiding Jewish children in convents. In 1943, the children were sent to Pere Bruno in Maaseik, Belgium, where they were given new identification papers. The children were returned to their parents just before the end of the war. The Goldsteins survived, including Fanni, but many of Heinrich’s family perished after deportation to Opole, Poland. The family immigrated to the United States in 1949. 

Goldstein family letters 

box 1 

The Goldstein family letters contain correspondence addressed to the Goldstein family, primarily while they were living in Brussels, Belgium. The letters are mainly from Regina’s family living in Debica, Poland, including her parents Josef and Cilli Suessmann and her brother Moritz, among others. Several letters are from Opole, Poland. Two letters are written from Jack while he was away at Maaseik. Also included are some letters from the Jewish Committee in Lublin, and translations for many of the letters. 

The Goldstein family letters are arranged as a single series.