Walter Rudy Horenstein papers
The Walter Rudy Horenstein papers are arranged as a single series.
Walter (Walt) Rudy Horenstein (Wolfgang Leon, 1923-2015) was born on November 7, 1923 in Grajewo (Bialystok) Poland. His parents, Izydor (Isidor, 1885-1956, born to Abram and Rachel) and Ida Horenstein (née Hapner, 1890-1970, born in Grajewo, Poland to Wolf and Genia Hapner) were married in 1912 from an arranged marriage. Walt was the youngest of five children: Rachel (1909), Leopold (1913?-1943), Norbert (1911?-1942), and Charlotte (1921-1975). The family owned a factory near Grajewo that produced elasticized items such as suspenders and corsets. They kept kosher in the home, had Jewish friends, and attended High Holy Day services. In August 1939, the family decided to move to Warsaw, Poland. Soon after, their factory was taken over and the workers were arrested. In September 1939, Walt’s brothers were sent to Vilna and part of the war effot. The Germans bombed the Jewish quarter of Warsaw and Walt and his family were forced into the Warsaw ghetto. Walt began to feel that he had to get out of the ghetto and obtained false papers stating that he was a Lithuanian citizen by the name of Rudolf Budkis. At that time, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union. He sent his papers to the Soviet consulate and he was regarded as a Soviet citizen. After obtaining his passport in Konigsberg, Walt went to the Gestapo and registered as a foreigner living in Warsaw. In the beginning of 1941, Walt no longer felt secure, even with the false papers. He was living on the outside of the ghetto with money provided by his father. He learned in June 1941 that the war between Germany and the Soviet Union had started. As a Soviet citizen, he was ordered to report for internment. At this point, Walt returned to the ghetto and went to the gestapo. He was taken to Pawiak prison in the ghetto with 27 others and was placed in prison for three months. In October 1941, Walt was taken to Istanbul and deported to Vienna where there was going to be an exchange of prisoners between Germany and the Soviet Union. The exchange fell through and he was instead taken to Wulzburg, near Weissenberg, in Bavaria, Germany. All together there were about 300 people in ILAG XIII, a camp for international internees. They worked 12 hours a day doing hard work in brutal conditions. He worked in a stone quarry for about a year before working in a factory producing ball bearings for German tank turrets in 1943. Walt remained at the labor camp until liberation on April 26, 1945. His older brothers, Leopold and Norbert, and an older sister, Rachel, perished during the war. His father and mother were able to escape the ghetto and were placed in hiding with two Catholic families. For several months following his liberation, Walt worked as an interpreter for the United States military in Germany. Before he could leave Germany, he had to reestablish his identity. After several months he was granted papers and left for Paris in August 1945. While in Paris he met Rita Endleman (1924-2016), who had come from London to join the post-war reconstruction efforts. They married on March 27, 1949, and immigrated to New York City several years later. Walt and Rita had a daughter, Nadine Horenstein.
The Walter Rudy Horenstein collection includes false identification documents, postwar identification documentation, immigration documents, restitution applications and correspondence, and photographs documenting the wartime experiences of Walter Rudy Horenstein, who survived on false identification papers under the name Rudolf Budkis, and was sent to prison and forced labor camps before liberation in 1945. The collection also documents Walt’s postwar attempts to reestablish his identity and immigrate to the United States. False identification documents under the name Rudolf Budkis include a Polish school ID, a Polish drivers license, documentation of Lithuanian citizenship, ILAG XIII identification documents including certification of liberation, a Lithuania birth certificate, and a note relating to recognition of Soviet citizenship. Military documents under the name Rudolf Budkis include a US Army ID card, authorization to carry a pistol as part of the 79th Infantry Division, discharge paperwork, and a Provisional French ID card. Documents to reestablish Walt Horenstein’s identity include a Polish passport, a letter stating his official name, correspondence from the Polish consulate including a confirming his identity, and a letter from the American consulate requesting further information of the birth certificate. Immigration material includes US embassy correspondence relating to Walt’s application for a US visa as well as the immigration status of his wife, Rita, a letter granting approval for a Polish quota number for visa application, notice of approval for visa application, affidavits of support from cousin William Cowan and supporting documents, certificate of vaccination against smallpox, and US immigration information documents received upon arrival. Restitution material includes applications, correspondence, and receipts relating to Walt and Ida’s efforts to receive restitution for wartime suffering, including loss of property, a deposition conducted by Walt of his experience, correspondence with the United Jewish Appeal, Deutsche Band, and Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, and photographs of their property in Warsaw. Photographs include two photographs of Ida Horenstein and a photographic postcard, as well as copies of what are believed to be family photographs.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
box oversize folder 1 1
Copyright Holder: Ms. Nadine Horenstein