us-005578-irn614769
scope and content: The Dorothy Isaacsohn papers consist of photographs of Dorothy Isaacsohn while she was living as a displaced person in Germany and of her parents and their Isaacsohn and Koh relatives before and during the war as well as six pre-printed blank dress forms. One photograph depicts Dorit Isaacsohn four days before her immigration to the United Sates wearing the white blouse her mother handmade for her. Two others show Isaacsohn with a group of men and women outside a castle in the Berlin suburbs. The dress form depicts a drawn image of a woman facing forwards and backwards wearing a long dress and high heels.
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn614769/alternateIDs/1
record resource extent: folders 2
has record set type: Item
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-terms/701
title: Dorothy Isaacsohn papers
identifier: irn614769
biographical history: Dorothea (Dorit) Isaacsohn (later Dorothy Isaacsohn, 1933-2008) was born in Berlin, Germany, to Julius and Gertrud Koh Isaacsohn. Julius (1891-1943) was born in Berlin to Herrman Benjamin and Ernestine Kaiser Isaacsohn. Julius was a garment maker and coat and suit designer who imported his own fabrics. Gertrud (1901-1978) was born in Gratz, Germany (Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland), to Alex and Dorothea Koh. In May 1931, Julius and Gertrud married. Gertrud had a dressmaking business in their apartment and employed a non-Jewish woman, Lucie Gardner. They made a good living, lived in a predominantly Jewish area, and attended a large synagogue. The Nazi regime had taken power shortly before Dorit’s birth and actively began persecuting Jews. Gertrud’s employee Lucie was no longer allowed to work for a Jewish woman. In 1938, Julius and Gertrud lost their jobs. In early 1939, Dorit’s parents attempted to leave Germany, but could not get visas and permits. They sent 6 year old Dorit to Brussels, Belgium, to live with Dorit’s maternal aunt, Anna Kaufman, and her husband and stepson. Dorit’s maternal uncle Ludwig also lived in Brussels. Dorit had diphtheria when she arrived and was hospitalized, before going to live with her aunt Anna. The war began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Shortly after, on May 10, 1940, Germany invaded Belgium. Three German soldiers came to the apartment of Dorit’s aunt and took both of her uncles away. In 1941, Dorit returned to Berlin with the help of her parents and a family friend. In Berlin, Julius and Gertrud were forced to share their apartment with displaced Jewish families. Her parents were forced to work for the German government: Gertrud at a factory sewing leather army goods, and Julius at a lumber yard. Gertrud heard there was going to be a large roundup of Jews so on February 27, 1943, Dorit and her parents went into hiding with non-Jewish friends. Gertrud and Julius found an apartment to rent under the false name Schul…
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
has or had some members with language: eng
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn614769/acquisitions/1
date: circa 1920-1949
type: RecordSet
record resource structure: The Dorothy Isaacsohn papers are arranged as two folders: 1. Photographs, approximately 1920-1947 2. Blank dress forms, undated.
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn614769/alternateIDs/2
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn614769/alternateIDs/3