Guide to the Papers of Gertrud
(1907-?) and Friedrich (1902-?) Hermann
1908-1962
AR 25259 / MF 945
Processed by Rebekka Rueegsegger
Leo Baeck Institute
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 744-6400
Fax: (212) 988-1305
Email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org
URL: http://www.lbi.org
© 2008 Leo Baeck Institute. All rights reserved.
Center for Jewish History, Publisher.
Electronic finding aid was encoded in EAD 2002 by Dianne Ritchey Oummia in June 2008. Description is in English.
Descriptive Summary | |
| Creator: | Hermann,
Friedrich, b. 1902 Hermann, Gertrud (née Reinemann), b. 1907 |
|---|---|
| Title: | Gertrud and Friedrich Hermann Family Collection |
| Dates: | 1908-1962 |
| Abstract: | This collection holds the papers of Gertrud and Friedrich Hermann. The majority of the material found here documents Friedrich Hermann's education and his professional career as a lawyer, although material concerning his wife Gertrud and other members of the family is also present. The collection contains a typescript, correspondence, official documents, and clippings. |
| Languages: | The collection is primarily in German, with some French and Dutch. |
| Quantity: | 0.25 linear foot + 1 oversized folder |
| Identification: | AR 25259 / MF 945 |
| Repository: | Leo Baeck Institute |
Biographical Note
The lawyer Friedrich Hermann was born as Fritz Salomon in Gent, Belgium, on December 20th, 1902, the son of the merchant Hermann Salomon and his wife Toni (?). After attending school in Belgium and Germany he studied law in Frankfurt am Main, Munich, and Freiburg im Breisgau and received his doctorate diploma in 1926. He was admitted to the bar in Frankfurt in 1928. In 1933 he was disbarred and no longer allowed to practice law. He emigrated to New York in 1935 (?) where he changed his to Friedrich Hermann and started to work in the hop business.
Friedrich Hermann's first wife Gertrud (née Reinemann) was born on December 18th, 1907 in Frankfurt am Main. She was trained as a kindergarten teacher. The Hermann couple was acquainted with the Czech-German author Johannes Urzidil (1896-1970); Gertrud Hermann was also in contact with the German expressionist writer Fritz von Unruh (1885-1970).
In the early 1960s Friedrich Hermann married a second time. The name of the second wife of Friedrich Hermann was Renee (née Neuman). Her father, Willy Neuman, who died in 1919, owned a racing stable.
Return to the Top of PageScope and Content Note
The Gertrud and Friedrich Hermann Family Collection holds some of the couple's personal papers as well as some documents related to other family members and friends.
Prominent among the papers in this collection are the documents relating to the two well-known writers Johannes Urzidil and Fritz von Unruh. The first folder contains a typescript of Johannes Urzidil's essay Goethe und der boehmische Hopfen with a handwritten poem and dedication to Gertrud and Friedrich Hermann from 1951. This text deals with Goethe's interest in the hop plant and its preparation as a vegetable (Hopfengemuese) and cites the relevant text passages in his autobiographical and literary work. Urzidil's handwritten poem is a praise of hop as the basic ingredient of beer, and he addresses Gertrud and Friedrich as Hopfenleute, since they were working in the hop business after their emigration to the U.S. In addition, the first folder contains a postcard by Johannes and Gertrude Urzidil. Gertrud Hermann's correspondence with the German expressionist dramatist, poet, and novelist Fritz von Unruh is located in the following two folders. This correspondence consists of two brief but very cordial letters with compliments by von Unruh and one letter by Hermann, expressing her admiration for one of von Unruh's poems.
The majority of the papers in this collection pertain to Friedrich Hermann's education and career as a lawyer in Germany. Hermann's educational documents consist of reports from schools in Belgium as well as Frankfurt am Main and certificates from the universities of Frankfurt am Main, Munich, and Freiburg im Breisgau, where he studied law. While attending the Goethe-Gymnasium in Frankfurt his education was interrupted by one year of voluntary military service in 1918. The certificates of his relief from school and a declaration of consent by Friedrich's father will be found in the respective folder. Friedrich Hermann's professional documents consist predominantly of certificates, correspondence, as well as some newspaper clippings concerning his professional advancement, his admission to the bar, and his ban from practicing law in 1933. In addition, the collection holds a small amount of educational certificates of Gertrud Hermann, such as reports from the following schools: Viktoriaschule zu Frankfurt am Main, Staedtische Gewerbe- und Haushaltungsschule Frankfurt am Main, and Staedtisches Kindergaertnerinnen-Seminar Frankfurt am Main.
The remaining folders contain documents relating to other family members and friends of Gertrud and Friedrich Hermann. The family documents comprise typed copies of correspondence pertaining to Friedrich's father Hermann Salomon and grandfather Robert Oppenheim. The letters deal with Oppenheimer's participation in military campaigns, Salomon's fundraising for a school project in Belgium, and his activities as a delegate of the Help Committee for Refuges in 1915. Moreover, a book with poems cited and dedicated to Friedrich Hermann by his schoolmates and teachers, as well as a poem for his 60th anniversary written by his brother will be found in the last two folders of this collection.
Return to the Top of PageArrangement
Original order.
Return to the Top of PageRestrictions
Access Restrictions
Collection is microfilmed, please use MF 945.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Request" button.
Use Restrictions
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more
information, contact:
Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15
West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
email:
lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org
Access Points
-
Individuals:
- Hermann, Friedrich, b. 1902
- Hermann, Gertrud (nee Reinemann), b. 1907
- Unruh, Fritz von, 1885-1970
- Urzidil, Johannes, 1896-1970
-
Subjects:
- Authors
- Emigration and immigration
- Jewish lawyers
-
Document Types:
- Correspondence
- Diplomas
- Poems
Separated Material
Two buttons owned by Renee N. Herman's father were removed to LBI's Art and Objects Collection.
Return to the Top of PagePreferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification
of item, date (if known); Gertrud and Friedrich Hermann Collection; AR 25259;
box number; folder number; Leo Baeck Institute.
Processing Information
The order of the collection corresponds with the original order; no material was moved. Considering the small size of the collection no series were formed; only a brief description of the collection was added.
Return to the Top of Page