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Marianne Steiner Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 10443

Scope and Content Note

This collection includes a few documents, i.e. identification and registration cards issued in Belgium and later England in the 1930s, and notes of Marianne Steiner herself. Such documents will be found in Series I.

The bulk of the collection, however, comprises the Esberg family collection including the family's personal correspondences, including postcards and letters, a guestbook of Ivan and Suse Esberg - Marianne Steiner's uncle and his first wife (she died already in 1935) - and especially the family's large photo collection. Ivan Esberg emigrated from Germany to Belgium. He was interned in the French detention camp St. Cyprien and managed to flee. Afterwards, he went into hiding, survived and returned to Belgium after the war where he married Gertrud Gram – née Meyerstein, widow of Alfred Gram. Furthermore one can find a family tree of the Steiner family and one copy of the Chronicle of the Esberg/Meyerstein/Pohly Families under the Holocaust. These items are located in Series II.

The contents of Series III deserve special mention. They consist of original photographs taken in a concentration camp shortly after liberation (photographer unknown, undated).

Additionally, the collection holds many documents of Marianne's husband Paul Steiner, found in Series IV. These include primary and secondary school certificates and University documents, letters of recommendations and other documents connected to his struggle for a visa and emigration preparations.

Dates

  • Creation: 1896-1993
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1917-1974

Creator

Language of Materials

The collection is in German, English, French and Flemish.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized.

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

Marianne Steiner (née Esberg) was born on October 15, 1919, in Braunschweig, Germany. She is the daughter of Ernst and Hilda Esberg (née Eisenstein). The Esbergs used to be successful cattle and horse dealers in Wolfenbuettel, near Braunschweig.

Marianne Steiner (née Esberg) left Germany via Belgium and England to finally arrive in New York City on October 15, 1938 together with her parents. In 1941, the writer Paul Steiner rented a room in the Esberg's apartment in New York City. Marianne and Paul married in 1942. Their only son, Thomas Steiner, was born in 1943.

Her husband became the head of the American subsidiary of Adprint, a British publisher, called Chanticleer Press. In 1952, when the British company wanted to sell the subsidiary, Paul Steiner bought Chanticleer Press.

Extent

1.0 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection comprises documents of Marianne Steiner and her husband Paul Steiner. Material of the Esberg family, however, makes up the bulk of the collection, especially a large accumulation of family photographs. Furthermore, one can find material related to the Holocaust, i.e. a copy of the ‘Chronicle of the Esberg/ Meyerstein/ Pohly Families under the Holocaust’ and a series of original photographs taken in a concentration camp shortly after liberation.

Arrangement

The collection has been subdivided into four series in the following manner:

  1. Series I: Marianne Steiner Documents, 1934-1938
  2. Series II: Esberg Family Collection, 1896-1993
  3. Series III: Concentration Camp Liberation Pictures, undated
  4. Series IV: Paul Steiner Documents, 1918-1939

Related Material

The Paul Steiner Collection may be found in the LBI’s archives (AR 25208) as well as his autobiography in the LBI's Memoir Collection available on microfilm (ME 938).

‘Chronicle of the Esberg/Meyerstein/Pohly Families under the Holocaust’ is also available in the LBI Manuscript Collection (MS 594).

Processing Information

In September 2011, the collection was processed following a pre-existent box inventory. The collection's material was arranged into four series and the folders were renamed and renumbered. Additionally, an appropriate finding aid was created.

Title
Guide to the Papers of Marianne Steiner (1919- ) 1896-1993 AR 10443
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Miriam Schulz
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 MarianneSteiner.xml

Revision Statements

  • May 2012: Links to digital objects added in Container List.
  • March 2013: Links to digital objects added in Container List.
  • August 20, 2018:: Correct folder numbers for contents of folders 2/5 and 2/6 provided.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

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