Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Mala Laaser Collection.
- Dates:
- 1938-1980.
- Abstract:
- Correspondence and manuscript material of Mala Laaser, a German Jewish writer of the 1930s and 1940s and refugee to England. Materials are in English and German and focus on social criticism.
- Extent:
- 1 linear foot
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Mala Laaser Collection, D-315, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Correspondence and manuscript material of Mala Laaser, a German Jewish writer of the 1930s and 1940s and refugee to England. Materials are in English and German and focus on social criticism.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Amalie Eva Ruth Laaser (Mala Laaser) was born on July 19, 1911, in Königsberg (East Prussia/Germany) to Isidor and Helene Laaser. Mala Laaser was a journalist and writer based in Berlin during the mid- and late 1930s, mainly for Jewish magazines in the German language, such as Central-Verein-Zeitung, the Jüdisches Gemeindeblatt of the Jewish Community of Berlin, the monthly newspapers of the Jewish Cultural Association in Berlin, and in the Berliner Der Morgen / Monatsschrift der Juden in Deutschland.
In 1937, Mala Laaser met the writer and lawyer Jacob Picard (1883-1967), and they were engaged. The couple broke off their engagement and relationship, but remained friends and corresponded often. She emigrated from Germany in 1939 and fled to the United Kingdom because of the Nazi persecution of Jewish people. While in the UK, she worked in domestic service, advancing from maid to schoolmistress. In 1946, she got engaged and married to Henry James Moyes, and they had a daughter together later that year. Laaser passed away in Glasgow on March 23, 1953.
Sources:
Brockbank, Conor. 2023. German and Austrian Refugees in Domestic Service in Ceredigion during the Second World War: Aberystwyth and Llanbadarn Fawr. Refugees from National Socialism in Wales. https://wp-research.aber.ac.uk/nsrefugeeswales/aber-lb-refugee-domestics/
Donor's notes
Mala Laaser/Moyes; Hans Lamm; Hans Larosse; Thilde Laubert; Ludwig Lewissohn; Emmi Levy; Hermann Lewy; Erich Liechtenstein; Mr. Lieser; Chrarlotte Linton; E.G. Loewenthal; Ida Lublinski; Gertrud Luckner (VI; No. 11.L), 1937-1964, Box: 5, Folder: 15. Jacob Picard Collection, AR 6016. Leo Baeck Institute. https://archives.cjh.org/repositories/5/archival_objects/331867, Accessed March 23, 2026.
Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin. (n.d.) Mala Laaser. https://provenienzforschung.zlb.de/en/restitutions/mala-laaser/
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of M. Kay Flavell, retired Associate Professor of the humanities at UC Davis.
- Processing information:
-
This collection was formerly named the M. Kay Flavell Collection. At the behest of the donor (M. Kay Flavell), it was renamed to the Mala Laaser Collection.
- Physical location:
- Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-03-23 13:31:14 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Mala Laaser Collection, D-315, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library100 NW QuadDavis, CA 95616-5292, US
- Contact:
- (530) 752-1621