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Elisabeth Lunau Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 6461

Scope and Content Note

The Elisabeth Lunau Collection documents Elisabeth Lunau’s personal life and her research on her father, Ludwig Marum, a Minister in the Weimer Republic and a prominent figure in the Socialist movement; the collection also documents Elisabeth Lunau’s research on her family’s genealogy.

The collection consists of correspondence, vital-, immigration-, and financial documents, photographs, lists, genealogical tables, manuscripts, notes, and printed materials.

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, which can be found throughout the collection.

Personal correspondence includes letters from friends and family members, most notably from her husband, Heinz Lunau, her brother, Hans Marum, and her mother, Johanna Marum. There is also a substantial amount of correspondence between her parents, Johanna and Ludwig Marum. Most of the correspondence was generated between 1933 and 1934, during Ludwig Marum’s imprisonment.

Additionally, there is correspondence between Elisabeth Lunau and various refugee organization and government agencies, American and European, as part of her efforts to bring her family members to the US.

The bulk of the correspondence concerning Elisabeth Lunau’s genealogical research can be found in Subseries 2: Genealogy. Correspondence dealing with Elisabeth Lunau’s genealogical research constitutes a smaller portion of the materials concerning her family history. The bulk of the materials dealing with genealogy consist of vital documents, such as birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, manuscripts, notes, some printed materials, and genealogical tables.

Genealogical materials collected here are research files and include very few originals. With the exception of correspondence, notes, some genealogical tables and manuscripts, almost all the materials here are photocopies.

In addition to the research files dealing with genealogical research, there are also research files on Ludwig Marum and the Marum family which consists of printed materials, notes on the correspondence, and manuscripts by other authors, in particular by Monika Pohl. Other materials include research materials on the Jews from Karlsruher and Kirchheim, and materials on the Gurs Concentration Camp.

The bulk of these materials are photocopies with original materials constituting just a fraction of all the materials.

The collection also includes printed materials collected by Elisabeth Lunau. These materials include a collection of Ludwig Marum’s speeches at the Reichstag (parliament) published in parliament bulletins, and clippings about Ludwig Marum, Elisabeth and Heinz Lunau and other materials.

With the exception of correspondence, there are almost no personal materials of Elisabeth Lunau or other family members in the collection. Aside from the correspondence, some documents and notes, there are no original materials.

Dates

  • Creation: 1750s-1997
  • Creation: Majority of material found in 1916-1997

Creator

Language of Materials

The collection is in German, English, and French.

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.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

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

Biographical Note

Elisabeth Lunau, neé Marum, was born in Germany in 1911. She was the daughter of Ludwig Marum, who served as a Minister in the Weimar republic, and who was killed by the Nazi government in 1934.

She was one of the last German Jews to earn a law degree before WW II, but did not have a chance to practice due to the new law barring Jews from that profession.

Elisabeth Lunau left Germany in 1936 and went to France to join other members of her family. There she was interned in a number of concentration camps but was released and came to New York in 1941.

In New York she became executive housekeeper at a number of Manhattan hotels. She was the author of two books Ludwig Marum. Briefe aus dem Konzenrationslager Kislau, a collection of her fathers letters, and Auf der Flucht in Frankreich : "Boches ici, juifs là-bas" - der Briefwechsel einer deutschen Familie im Exil 1939–1942, a collection of her and her relatives letters. She died in New York on June 5th, 1998.

Extent

10.5 Linear Feet

Abstract

The Elisabeth Lunau Collection documents Elisabeth Lunau’s personal life and her research on her father, Ludwig Marum, a Minister in the Weimer Republic and a prominent figure in the Socialist movement; the collection also documents Elisabeth Lunau’s research on her family’s genealogy. The collection consists of correspondence, vital-, immigration-, and financial documents, photographs, lists, genealogical tables, manuscripts, notes, and printed materials.

Related Material

Ludwig Marum Collection (AR 4969), Leo Baeck Institute

Separated Material

Some photographs have been removed to the LBI Photo Collection. Books have been removed to the LBI Library

Title
Guide to the Papers of Elisabeth Lunau (1911-1997) 1750s-1997 bulk 1916-1997 AR 6461
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Yakov Sklar
Date
© 2008
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation

Revision Statements

  • 2010-03-23 : encoding of linking to digital objects from finding aid was changed from <extref> to <dao> through dao_conv.xsl

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States