Marx Family Collection

This collection documents the life of the Marx family.

Series I mainly consists of correspondence between the family members. Field post letters constitute a great part of this series. Those were written in World War I by Sigmund Marx and his younger brother Max Marx, who both served in the army. Furthermore, the series includes greeting cards and telegrams in celebration of Sigmund and Mathilde's marriage in 1911. Another part of Series I is constituted of cards and letters written between the brothers Ernest Marx and Paul Marx. This series also comprises letters written in Hebrew and one letter, which was composed in 1861. In addition, Series I holds some personal materials of Kate and Paul Marx. Such items include photographs, family trees, travel memorabilia and invitations to Kate Marx from the mayors of Nuremberg and Frankfurt am Main, where she once lived.

Series II contains the correspondence of Marx family members. Prominent among the correspondence are the field post letters sent by Sigmund Marx and his younger brother Max during their time in the German army in World War I. Other letters include those sent by Sigmund to his wife Mathilde and correspondence concerning their marriage in 1911 as well as letters of other family members.

Series III comprises a small amount of official documents, such as marriage certificates, testimonials and an application for reentry permission as well as educational and vocational certificates. Other official documents which can also be found in Folder 9 are some receipts of Sigmund Marx’s arrival in the Concentration Camp Dachau and a letter by him addressed to its administration (Gefangenen-Eigentumsverwaltung Konzentrationslager Dachau), where he was jailed in winter 1938. Of particular interest might be the Nazi registration documents of the Baruch family, who moved from Nuremberg to Berlin in 1933. One year later they resettled in Frankfurt am Main. Folders 7 and 8 of Series II hold several school testimonials of Ernest and Paul Marx, when they attended the Humanistisches Gymnasium Ludwigshafen am Rhein and the Oberrealschule Ludwigshafen am Rhein.

Series IV contains various material regarding the financial affairs from Sigmund Marx and his sons Ernest and Paul Marx, such as two account books of the Marx family company (flour wholesale business, Mehlgrosshandlung) in Ludwigshafen am Rhein and a huge amount of tax documents pertaining to the partnership conducted by Sigmund Marx and his younger brother Willy Marx. In folder 13 is also to be found their contract, when Willy Marx left the company in 1934, shortly before he emigrated to Palestine. The same folder holds correspondence between Sigmund Marx and the German tax office and also with the Zentralausschuss fuer Hilfe und Aufbau. In addition, Series IV also encloses the restitution efforts of Ernest and Paul Marx, after they had already moved to the U.S. They made a successful restitution claim for their property in Wiesloch, Germany.

Series V comprises a huge amount of clippings regarding German-Jewish life during the Nazi regime. The bulk of the articles are from French newspapers. Others are from German and British ones. One folder contains a special edition of the Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung pertaining to the Anschluss in 1938.