Cantor Leopold and Isabelle Szneer collection, bulk 1906-1960

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Summary

Title:
Cantor Leopold and Isabelle Szneer collection
Dates:
bulk 1906-1960
Creators:
Szneer, Leopold and Szneer, Isabelle
Abstract:
The collection contains scrapbooks, photographs, documents, and books, belonging to Cantor Leopold Szneer and Isabelle Szneer. Parents, family, and friends of Leopold and Isabelle are featured prominently as well. In addition, the collection comprises prayer books, and prayer clothing including a Tallit and Shabbat apron, as well as, a parochet, the curtain that covers the Torah.
Extent:
2.38 Linear Feet
Language:
English , French , Hebrew .
Preferred citation:

[Item title/description; Box number/Folder number] Cantor Leopold and Isabelle Szneer collection (2020.006.h.r), Oskar Schindler Archive, Chapman University, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

The Cantor Leopold Szneer and Isabelle Szneer Collection is arranged into four series, photographs, documents, books, and Jewish religious objects. The bulk dates are from 1906 to 1960, and the majority of photographs and documents span from 1920 to 1949. The photograph series is organized into subseries based on the individuals featured prominently in the photo. The photographs and scrapbooks depict Leopold Szneer and Isabelle Szneer in their adolescence and as young adults. The photographs portray families, relatives, and friends of the Szneers. Locations include Munich, Germany; Brussels, Belgium; London, United Kingdom; and Los Angeles, United States. The documents in this collection are mostly identification papers and passports and notably, include naturalization documents that allowed the Szneers to live legally in the United States. The religious items are prayer books and prayer clothing, including a Tallit and Shabbat apron. The bulk of religious items are from before World War II and survived the war, and were passed on to Isabelle and Leopold by various family members. Also, the collection contains a parochet, the curtain that covers the Torah.

Biographical / historical:

Cantor Leopold Szneer

Cantor Leopold Szneer was born on December 21, 1921, in Munich, Germany. From a young age, he knew he wanted to become a Chazzan (Cantor). He studied chazzanut and performed as a soloist in his synagogue's choir. Nazism's rise to power threatened to end his dream. His Jewish school was closed, he and other Jewish children had to attend public schools, where they were confronted with anti-Semitism.

In 1935, Leopold left Munich to attend a theological seminary in Frankfurt. However, under Nazi pressure, it closed in 1938. On November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht erupted throughout the country, Leopold was arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp at the age of sixteen. After spending five weeks, the Jewish Federation and Red Cross were able to free him because he was underage.

On December 20, 1938, Szneer's parents placed him on a Kindertransport to Belgium. The transport was a rescue effort to get Jewish children safely out of the country. His sister Ester got a visa to go to England in early 1939. His parents and another sister, Hanna, stayed in Munich until July 1939, and later joined Szneer. Unfortunately, German troops invaded Belgium on May 10, 1940, and the family was in grave danger once again.

The family hid in a dog shelter but were discovered and sent to the transit camp Malines. Since it was days before Rosh Hashana, Szneer gathered his father and ten men to form a High Holiday service in a hidden bunk. Denounced by a fellow prisoner, Szneer and the entire camp were ordered to confess who had dared to pray. Szneer stepped forward, and the S.S. officer warned him, "Here we do not pray."

In the next years, Szneer was located in the Breendonck concentration camp, including a time of solitary confinement. Eventually, with the help of the resistance, he escaped, joined the partisan, and returned to Brussels, hiding for nine months in a small attic until the city was liberated by the Allies. Only then did Szneer learn that his parents had been murdered at Auschwitz in early 1944.

In 1946, Szneer met fellow survivor Isabelle Lubinewski who he married a year later. In 1952 the couple came to Los Angeles, United States, and in 1953 Cantor Szneer led his first High Holiday service in his new home. He led services throughout the L.A. region and was cantor at Congregation Mogen David in Los Angeles for more than 20 years. He also held High Holiday services at the Writer's Guild for 25 years. The Szneers have worked with local universities, synagogues, and schools to further Holocaust studies. Cantor Leopold Szneer passed away on May 26, 2016.

Isabelle Szneer

Isabelle Szneer was born in Brussels, Belgium, on May 26, 1924. Her parents Charles and Hinda Lubinewski, had emigrated to Belgium after World War I. Her family was considered stateless because the Belgian government refused to grant them citizenship.

Following the Nazi German invasion of Belgium on May 10, 1940, the Lubinewski family attempted to flee to southern France but were unable to escape. Compelled to register as Jews, the family experienced growing harassment and isolation. On August 3, 1942, Isabelle, then eighteen years old, received a summons to report immediately to the transit camp Malines for deportation. If she failed to obey, her father would be taken in her place. Desperate to keep his family together, Isabelle's father devised a solution. If his daughter immediately married a Belgian citizen, she would no longer be subject to the order. An 80-year-old resident of a retirement home agreed to the sham marriage, and the ceremony took place the following day. Isabelle was spared.

Sometimes separated, the family would spend the ensuing years in a succession of hiding places. The support from the Belgian resistance enabled the family to survive until liberation in September 1944. On March 16, 1947, Isabelle wed Leopold Szneer. Isabelle Szneer passed away on November 26, 2019.

Physical description:
Good
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Tiana Taliep and Will Hoskin
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-05-30 17:08:31 -0400 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions on the use of this material expect where perviously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.

Preferred citation:

[Item title/description; Box number/Folder number] Cantor Leopold and Isabelle Szneer collection (2020.006.h.r), Oskar Schindler Archive, Chapman University, CA.

Location of this collection:
One University Drive
Orange, CA 92866, US
Contact:
(714) 532-6005
schindlerarchive@chapman.edu
Website