Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Fritz Weinman Papers
Identifier/Call Number: SC.FWP
Physical Description:
2.46 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1860-2001
Abstract: The Fritz Weinman
Papers document the life of Jewish German emigre, Fritz (Fred) Weinman and his family
through correspondence, vital documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera. The
archival materials document his efforts to leave Nazi Germany and the places he lived before
ultimately settling in the Pacific Palisades. Several documents also record property lost by
his family and efforts to receive restitution.
Language of Material:
English, German, Spanish; Castilian, Czech, French.
Biographical / Historical
Fritz Weinman was born in 1903 in Magdeburg, Germany into a prominent coal-mining and
shipping family. When WWI broke out, he supported the German Army by contributing his
allowance to the war effort. Weinman was Jewish, and with the rise of antisemitism in
Germany leading up to World War II, he decided to leave the county in 1939. Many of his
family members were unable to leave. Nazis murdered his sister and brother-in-law in a death
camp during World War II. His mother Adele emigrated to England. Other family members that
survived the Holocaust encountered difficulties living in Germany's post-war, Soviet Union
controlled Eastern Zone.
Weinman lived in Czechoslovakia, France, and Mexico before settling in Hollywood,
California. He worked a number of jobs, including as a truck driver in France and as an
optometrist in California. He married Maria Elizabeth Goldenblum in Las Vegas in 1939 in
order to remain in the United States. He became a United States citizen in 1945 and legally
changed his name to Fred in September 1978. He and his second wife Dr. Lois Weinman-Roberts
built a home in Pacific Palisades among a community of other German emigrants.
Scope and Contents
The Fritz Weinman Papers document the life of Jewish German emigre, Fritz (Fred) Weinman
and his family through correspondence, vital documents, photographs, newspaper clippings,
and ephemera. The archival materials document his efforts to leave Nazi Germany and aspects
of the places he lived before ultimately settling in the Pacific Palisades. Several
documents also record property lost by his family and efforts to receive restitution. His
last name is sometimes spelled "Weinmann." The collection is arranged into three series:
Family History (1928-1997),
Biographical (1860-2001), and
Correspondence
(1939-1975).
Series I,
Family History, includes bank receipts, vital
records, correspondence, clippings, and notes related to the lives of Fritz Weinman's family
members. These include his mother Adele, brother Bruno and his wife Elizabeth, sister Edith
Weinmann Dittman, sister Gerde (Gerda) Weinmann Goedhart, brother Kurt, grandfather Samuel
Weinmann, and other family members. The series is arranged alphabetically by family member
name.
Series II,
Biographical, contains documents, research,
photographs, and writing related to Fritz Weinman. This series is divided into two
subseries.
Subseries A,
Weinman, Fritz, includes vital records,
documents, and photographs recording Weinman's life and journey across Europe, Mexico, and
ultimately to the United States. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by country or by
individual's name, and then chronologically within.
Subseries B,
Weinman-Roberts, Dr. Lois, includes historian Dr.
Lois (Barbara Johnson) Weinman-Robert's biographical research and writing.
Series III,
Correspondence, contains letters and a telegram
written to Fritz Weinman and his family, primarily from friends and associates. The series
is arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent when the writer is known.
Arrangement
Series I: Family History, 1928-1997
Series II: Biographical, 1860-2001
Subseries A: Weinman, Fritz, 1860-1996
Subseries B: Weinman-Roberts, Dr. Lois, 1931-2001
Series III: Correspondence, 1939-1975
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Dr. Lois Weinman Roberts and Dr. Michael Meyer
Preferred Citation
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.