Pretzfelder Family Collection
Scope and Content Note
The collection describes the history of the narrower Pretzfelder family circle. It contains the vital records of birth, marriage and death and is therefore a reliable genealogical source of their family history. These family documents and some honorary certificates pertaining to Fritz Pretzfelder are kept in Series I. Furthermore, Series I contains some private correspondence between the family members and various family photographs from different periods. The most personal document is a baby book that Clara Pretzfelder created for their son Hans-Georg and that she used as a personal diary. The book does not only describe Hans-Georg Pretzfelder's childhood years but also documents Clara Pretzfelder's suffering under the growing distance between them and their son after Hans-Georg's emigration. Series II focuses on the Pretzfelders' business in Bavaria, a glass factory in Spiegelau. It contains important certificates regarding shareholding and inheritance matters, a collection of newspaper clippings and photos pertaining to the factory. While there are not many business documents from the time before the war, Fritz Pretzfelder's later work and the awarding of the Bundesverdienstkreuz to him in 1958 are well documented.
Dates
- Creation: 1842-1994
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1910-1961
Creator
- Pretzfelder, Rosalind, 1943- (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German, English, and Hebrew.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
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 "Reserve" 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
Biographical Note
Fritz Pretzfelder was born on Jan 5, 1878 in Nuremberg. He was the son of the hops dealer Ferdinand Pretzfelder and his wife Luise Pretzfelder neé Rothschild. On March 1, 1912, Fritz Pretzfelder married Clara Kruger in Vienna. She was born on June 27, 1888 in Pilsen as the daughter of Josef Kruger and his wife Lulu neé Frauenfeld. Fritz Pretzfelder and Clara Pretzfelder had one son, Hans-Georg Pretzfelder. In 1926 Fritz Pretzfelder acquired an old established glass manufacturing business in Spiegelau in Bavaria (Germany), which he developed into a world renowned company. The Nazi regime forced Fritz and Clara Pretzfelder out of the company as they had both been born to Jewish parents. They immigrated to Great Britain, where Fritz Pretzfelder changed his name to Frederick Preston. Their son, Hans-Georg Pretzfelder, father of Rosalind Pretzfelder, immigrated to the United States and Frederick Preston's brother, Max Pretzfelder, remained in Germany. He was deported to Theresienstadt, where he was murdered in the Holocaust. Frederick and Clara Preston returned to their company in Bavaria after the war. They died in their home in Spiegelau, Clara on June 17, 1959 and Fritz on October 31, 1961. Fritz Pretzfelder was awarded with the Bundesverdienstkreuz in 1958.
Extent
0.75 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection contains various material about the Pretzfelder Family and the Kristallglasfabrik Spiegelau. The emphasis of the collection lies on the loss, restitution and postwar development of the glass factory in Bavaria and the rise of Fritz Pretzfelder (later Frederick Preston) as a successful industrial businessman. The collection also documents the family's immigration to Great Britain in 1938 and other family events. The collection includes many family photographs.
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged in two series:
Separated Material
An anniversary film for the 450th anniversary of the Kristallglasfabrik Spiegelau from 1971 was moved to the Audiovisual Collection; the Bundesverdienstkreuz medal (1958) and the Red Cross medal (undated) were moved to the LBI Art and Objects Collection.
Processing Information
In October 2011 the collection was updated and a finding aid was created, including the arrangement of the material into series and the addition of description. Date information and folder labels were corrected after research. Some of the material was moved to others collections.
Subject
- Preston, Frederick, 1878-1961 (Person)
- Pretzfelder, Clara, 1888-1959 (Person)
- Pretzfelder, Max, 1866-1943 (Person)
- Pretzfelder family (Family)
- Kristallglasfabrik Spiegelau (Organization)
- Theresienstadt (Concentration camp) (Organization)
Genre / Form
- clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Official documents
- Photograph albums
- Photographs
- Postcards
- Sales catalogs
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of the Pretzfelder Family 1842-1994 AR 25365
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Johanna Luetgebrune
- Date
- © 2011
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from Pretzfelder.xml
Revision Statements
- July 23, 2012 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
