Lisette Lamon and Benjamin Soep papers

Lisette Lamon and Benjamin Soep papers 

Lisette Lamon and Benjamin Soep papers 

box 1 

The Lisette Lamon and Benjamin Soep papers include biographical materials, correspondence, and personal narratives documenting Lisette and Benno Soep’s marriage, Benno’s imprisonment and death at Mauthausen, Lisette’s imprisonment at Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen, and her immigration to the United States. The collection also includes photographs stamped"International News Photos” taken in Nazi Germany depicting Hitler and senior members of his staff, Kristallnacht, book burnings, firing squads, and hangings in the forest near the Buchenwald concentration camp. Biographical materials include Lisette and Benno Soep’s marriage certificate, a death announcement for Benno copied alongside a quotation from Stefan Zweig, a certificate documenting Lisette’s work at the Westerbork camp hospital, her Bergen-Belsen registration card, a travel permit allowing her to visit London after the war, a certificate documenting her postwar address in Amsterdam, and her United States naturalization certificate. Most of the records are photocopies, but the Bergen-Belsen card, travel permit, address certificate, and naturalization certificate are originals. Some of the documents are accompanied by English translations. Correspondence includes a postcard and letter written by Ben Soep apparently while in custody in the Netherlands and another postcard and letter he wrote from the Mauthausen concentration camp. The first two express Ben’s uncertainty about his future and his desire to rejoin his wife and parents, and they are accompanied by English translations. The other two are on official camp forms and describe his status, health, and address as well as the rules for corresponding with Mauthausen prisoners. Personal narratives include Lamon’s 127-page memoir consisting of vignettes describing her experiences in Amsterdam, her deportation to Westerbork, her imprisonment in Bergen-Belsen, and her liberation, as well as shorter individual vignettes, a speech drafted for Lamon in 1946, and articles she published in newspapers. Photographs consist of press photographs taken in Nazi Germany between 1932-1945 depicting Hitler and senior members of his staff, Kristallnacht, book burnings, and firing squads. The photographs are stamped"International News Photo" on the verso, and most also bear German or English captions. They were given to Lisette Lamon after the war to “figure out what to do with them.” Additional unattributed photographs depict Nazis, camps, and atrocities. This series also includes a photograph of the prisoner transport train that American troops liberated in Farsleben in April 1945. The train was one of three that left Bergen-Belsen between April 6 and 10 bound for Theresienstadt bearing prisoners holding papers from neutral and non-European countries. Lisette Lamon was one of the liberated prisoners aboard the Farsleben train. 

The Lisette Lamon and Benjamin Soep papers are arranged as four series: Series 1: Biographical materials, 1940-1951 Series 2: Correspondence, 1941 Series 3: Personal narratives, 1946-circa 1980 Series 4: Photographs, circa 1932-1945