Biographical Information
Conditions Governing Access note
Conditions Governing Use note
Scope and Contents note
Preferred Citation note
Related Archival Materials note
Title: Becker family papers
Identifier/Call Number: 1989.1002
Contributing Institution:
Tauber Holocaust Library
Language of Material:
Multiple languages
Container: Archives Box 6
Physical Description:
1.0 Folder(s)
Date: 1939-1941, 1945
Language of Materials note: Correspondence is in Polish and German. Receipts are in English. English translations are available for some of the Polish
and German material.
Abstract: The Becker family papers are comprised of family correspondence during the period 1939-1941, including letters and postcards
sent from the Warsaw and Lodz ghettos from some members of the Becker family to family members living in the United States.
Creator:
Becker family
Biographical Information
Before the invasion and occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Becker family lived in Lodz, Poland.
Martin Becker (1917-2001) attended the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and later studied economics at Carleton College,
Northfield, MN. At the time of Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Martin was living in New York, where
he had an uncle who owned a bakery. His mother, who had been visiting him earlier from Poland, was at sea, returning to Poland.
Unable to reach Poland, his mother was rerouted and returned to the United States, where she spent the rest of her life. Family
members Abraham, Tadek and Lolek remained behind and were trapped in Nazi-occupied Poland. Their home was confiscated by authorities;
they were forced to move to the Warsaw Ghetto.
Martin registered for the US military draft, and received military intelligence training at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. He served
in Europe during the war, and entered Dachau concentration camp in April 1945. Towards the end of the war, he was as an interrogator
of German suspects for war crimes trials.
According to a note included in the file by Martin Becker, donor of the collection, his father and brothers perished at Treblinka
death camp.
Conditions Governing Access note
There are no restrictions to access for this collection.
Conditions Governing Use note
There are no restrictions to use for this collection.
Scope and Contents note
This collection is comprised of correspondence – mostly postcards, but some letters and a telegram – sent primarily from members
of the Becker family still living in Europe to other family members living in the United States and Holland during the period
from November 1939 until late 1941. The postcards and letters document the desperate situation of those left in Poland. They
illustrate the difficulties of escape and the great impediments families faced in trying to rescue family members. Several
postcards contain heart-breaking pleas for assistance in obtaining transit visas and papers, and awareness of an uncertain
future.
Also included are postal return receipts, and receipts for food packages sent to family members in Warsaw, Krosniewice and
Kutno, Pola
Preferred Citation note
Becker Family papers - 1989.1002, Tauber Holocaust Library - JFCS Holocaust Center, San Francisco, California
Related Archival Materials note
Video oral histories of Martin Becker were conducted on May 24, 1993 and July 14, 1993, and are available for viewing upon
request.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Becker, Abraham
Becker, Lolek
Becker, Tadek
Family papers -- Poland
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Poland -- Lodz
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Poland -- Warsaw
Jewish families -- Poland
Jews -- Persecutions -- Poland -- Lodz
Jews -- Persecutions -- Poland -- Warsaw
Lodz (Poland)
Postcards -- Poland
Receipts -- Poland
Warsaw (Poland)
World War, 1939-1945 -- Civilian relief -- Poland
World War, 1939-1945 -- Lodz
World War, 1939-1945 -- Warsaw.