United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Max Schames (later Max James, b. 1896) was born in 1896 in Stuttgart, Germany to Heinrich (1871-1928) and Franziska Sara (née Tiefenthal, 1870-1940) Schames. He served with the German Army during World War I and married Käthe Löwengardt in 1907. Käthe (later Käthe James) was born in 1907 in Rexingen, Germany to Anna (née Tanhauser) and Rubin Löwengardt. Max and Käthe had two children, Heiner (later Henry James, b. 1930) and Annemarie (later Anne Clark Schames, b. 1932). In 1939 the Schames family fled Germany to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In 1941 they immigrated to the United States via Cuba. They changed their last name to James in 1942.
box oversize folders 1 2
The collection is arranged as four series. Series 1. Biographical material, 1871-1984; Series 2. Immigration, 1940-1952; Series 3. Correspondence, 1910-1959; Series 4. Photographs, circa 1890-1955
The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of the Schames family (later James family) of Stuttgart, Germany including the pre-war lives of Max and Käthe Schames and their children Annemarie and Heiner in Stuttgart, their flight from Germany to Amsterdam, and their immigration to the United States via Cuba. Included is biographical material, immigration documents, correspondence, and photographs. Biographical material includes family books, identification papers, a German passport, marriage papers, memorial books, and documents relating to Max Schames’s military career during World War I. Also included is a family history of the Ausburger family, who was most likely related to Käthe Schames’ family and documents related to Max Schames parents, Heinrich and Franziska Sara Schames. Immigration documents consists of papers related to the Schames family’s efforts to immigrate to the United States via Cuba including naturalization certificates and paperwork to change the family’s last name from Schames to James, Heiner’s name to Henry, and Annemarie’s name to Anne. Correspondence includes letters written by Max Schames during World War I, prewar letters received by Käthe, and wartime letters received from family in Stuttgart. Photographs includes prewar family photographs, depictions of Max Schames during World War I, and depictions of the Schames family after their immigration to the United States.
Schames family Papers