Hans and Käthe Stroh Collection

This collection contains documents and correspondence pertaining to Hans and Käthe Stroh's emigration to Shanghai and the United States, and materials for their restitution claims. There are also numerous family photos spanning the period roughly from 1900 to 1970.

The first series has birth certificates and marriage papers for Hans and Käthe Stroh, as well as a number of papers, including passports from Germany and Shanghai, affidavits, and letters of recommendations related to the Strohs' emigration from Berlin to Shanghai (1939) and then to the United States (1947). There is an inventory and appraisal of the couples valuables dating to 1938. In this series are also documents and correspondence concerning the Strohs' restitution claims.

The second series contains a variety of personal and family papers, such as Käthe Stroh's journal or notebook, some personal correspondence, a folder of jokes both typewritten and clipped from publications, and memorabilia such as Hans's prayer book from his military service. The largest group of materials in this series, however, consists of family photographs spanning much of the 20th century. The photographs document the family's domestic life in Berlin, Hans and Käthe's time in Shanghai, and their lives after the war. Among the pre-war photographs are several studio and group portraits, including a few in which family members are dressed for masquerade balls. The Shanghai photographs show street scenes and the Strohs with other refugees.