United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Zysia (Siegmund) Pressman (b. 1892) married Hinda Dombek (b. 1892) in 1913 and they had two children, Hermann (b.1914 in Frankfurt am Main) and Sonia (later Fuentes, b. 1928 in Berlin). Zysia and Hinda lived in Poland until 1913 when they moved to Germany. They settled in Berlin in 1919 and Zysia rented and managed a men's clothing store and factory, the Siegmund Pressman Herren Kleider Fabrik. On April 1, 1933 Zysia’s store was officially boycotted along with other Jewish-owned businesses and Hermann became concerned for his family. Hermann fled to Antwerp, Belgium to live with his cousin, David Mendelsohn. A few months later he was joined by his parents and sister. In April 1934, the family immigrated to the United States aboard the Red Star Line's SS Westernland. They arrived in New York City in May and settled in the Bronx. Sonia later attended Cornell University and the University of Miami School of Law. She became the first female attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and a founding member of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
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The Pressman family papers are arranged as a single series.
The Pressman family papers include three diaries written by Hermann Pressman, in German shorthand, from 1932-1935. In his diaries Hermann writes about daily life, economic and political changes, the violence and harassment his family endures, his escape to Belgium to live with his cousin David Mendelsohn, the process of gathering paperwork in order for his family to leave Germany, his family’s immigration to the United States, and his challenges and experiences when they first arrive in America. The collection also includes photographs and picture postcards of the Pressman family in Germany, Poland, and Belgium including photographs of extended family in Poland, Zysia's friends, and images of Sonia in Belgium prior to the family's immigration in 1933.
Pressman family papers