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Remak and Mosenthal family papers
1988.1046
1988.1046
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Table of contents
Title: Remak and Mosenthal family papers
Identifier/Call Number: 1988.1046
Contributing Institution:
Tauber Holocaust Library
Language of Material:
German
Container: Archives Box 01
Physical Description:
3.0 Folder(s)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1934-1959
Date (inclusive): 1884-1979
Language of Materials note: Materials are in German and English. English translation of some German materials is available.
Abstract: This collection documents the experiences of a Jewish German family from Berlin. Papers in German and English describe the
multi-generational business of the Mosenthal family, family member's military service during World War I, arrest and imprisonment
of family members, forced sale of business, emigration to England and then the United States. Letters to the United States
Department of State document the separation of family members and attempts to rescue family members left behind in Germany.
The collection includes biographical material, a family genealogy and photographs.
Conditions Governing Access note
There are no restrictions to access to this collection.
There are no restrictions to use for this collection.
Collection is arranged in separate folders for English language material, for German language material, for photographs, and
for photocopied material.
The collection is comprised of family papers of primarily the William (Curt) Mosenthal family, as well as a few items pertaining
to the Remak family, spanning the years 1934-1992, but primarily relating to the years 1934-1946. The collection documents
the experiences of a Jewish German family from Berlin, whose lives were imperiled and business confiscated by the Nazi regime,
and describes their emigration to England (where Mr. Mosenthal was interned on the Isle of Man as an enemy alien), their resettlement
in the United States, their attempts to free family members left behind, as well as restitution efforts after the war ended.
Documents include family and business papers, and photographs. Family papers include a letter describing the experiences of
Mr. Mosenthal while imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp in October 1939; correspondence between the United States
State Department and the Mosenthal family regarding Mr. Mosenthal's mother and her visa, and a family history written by Mr.
Mosenthal's daughter Ursel (Joyce Remak). Also included are obituary notices of Johanna Mosenthal and William (Curt) Mosenthal
for the Aufbau, a German language newspaper in New York City. Of interest is a German Youth Family Certificate issued to Ursel
Mosenthal in 1934.
Business papers relate to the Mosenthal family business, a hardware store of many generations, and includes periodical articles
regarding the Mosenthal family business - A. Mosenthal Hardware and business documents.
Photographs are both of family members, and street views of the Mosenthal business.
Remak and Mosenthal family papers - 1988.1046, Tauber Holocaust Library - JFCS Holocaust Center, San Francisco, California
William C. Mosenthal (born Curt) was born in Eisenach, Germany on October 9, 1890. After high school, he served in the Germany
Army during World War I as Acting First Sergeant in France and received the Iron Cross. In 1920 he married Johanna Eichengruen
who was born in Witten/Ruhr. Daughter Ursel (later Joyce) was born on October 20, 1920, and Hans (later John) was born on
July 16, 1922. The family lived in Eisenach with William Mosenthal's mother Kaethe.
Mr. Mosenthal was the manager of the A. Mosenthal Eisenhandlung Company in Eisenach. The business had been started by his
grandfather Abraham Mosenthal in 1884. Mr. Mosenthal's father, Max, took over management in 1898, and William Mosenthal in
turn inherited the management of the business after his father's death in 1929.
The night of November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht, William Mosenthal was arrested and sent to concentration camp Buchenwald. He
was forced to sign a "sales" contract for his business on December 1, 1938 so that he could leave the camp and emigrate. Johanna
Mosenthal was dragged into a hall opposite the synagogue; she and and other Jewish women were threatened to be thrown into
the synagogue. Upon returning home, Mrs. Mosenthal found her apartment destroyed and all her possession vandalized.
Ursel and Hans were able to emigrated in May 1939 to England, to await their quota number for emigration to the United States.
Hans came on a Kindertransport and Ursel was trained as a children's nurse in England. Mr. and Mrs. Mosenthal arrived in England
on August 25, 1939. Because he was considered an enemy alien, Mr. Mosenthal was interned on the Isle of Man. In October 1940
the family emigrated to the United States, where they settled in Kew Gardens, New York. Mrs. Mosenthal took her life in February
1943, never having recovered from the traumas she endured, as well as the death of her family. One brother committed suivide
when Nazi stormtroopers came to arrest him; a sister and her husband perished in Auschwitz.
Mr. Mosenthal had purchased a small hardware store upon emigration. He remarried in 1950, and moved with his wife to Mill
Valley, California in 1969. He died there in 1972.
Ursel Mosenthal married William Remak (an emigrant from Berlin) in 1954. She worked as a practical nurse/office assistant
in a doctor's office until 1960, and lives in Sausalito, San Francisco.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Buchenwald (Concentration camp).
Mosenthal family
Remak family
Remak, Joyce
Exit permits -- Germany
Family papers -- Germany
Isle of Man
Jewish businesspeople -- Germany
Jewish families -- Germany
Jewish refugees -- England
Jews -- Germany
Restitution and indemnification claims (1933- ) -- Germany (West)
United States -- Emigration and immigration