Carl Boschwitz - Hermann Leubsdorf Collection 1731-1959

The first series, Carl Boschwitz papers, consists primarily of correspondenc,e mostly in connection with his work with the Prisoners of War Relief Committee (Kriegsgefangenen Fürsorge, later the Welfare Committee for Prisoners of War), and the Kolonialkriegerdank (Colonial soldiers' gratitude committee) on behalf of German and Austrian prisoners of war during and after World War I, 1914-1921.This includes correspondence with the German and Austrian embassies, the German Red Cross, and individual prisoners of war. Later correspondence is limited but includes a letter from German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932, in which he assures Boschwitz that there is no place for National Socialism in the German government. In addition to correspondence, Boschwitz's papers include a marriage certificate and a family tree.The documents of the Leubsdorf family and the van Geldern families include wills, contracts, guild papers, and correspondence, including correspondence of Betty Heine (born Peira van Geldern), the mother of Heinrich Heine. Other family members prominently represented in the collection include Abraham Samuel, Isaac Bürger, David Pinchas Bock, Samson Heine (Heinrich Heine's father), and Isaac Leubsdorf. Many of these documents appear to have been used for genealogical research. Several family trees, some of which appear to have been drafted in the nineteenth century, and a genealogical manuscript narrative attest to this research. In addition, there is an eighteenth century prayer book which had belonged to Sender Offebach; how it entered Leubsdorf possession is unclear. Some correspondence from the twentieth century documents contemporary family affairs and the genealogical research efforts.Carl Boschwitz (1877-1937) was a businessman who emigrated to the United States in 1914.Hermann Leubsdorf was the great-great grandson of Brunella van Geldern, sister of Betty van Geldern, Heinrich Heine's mother.An earlier inventory islocated in folder 1.See also: 1) Memoir by (Charlotte) Engel Levinson: 'A Patchwork of memories' (ME 1229); 2) 'Levison, Wilhelm: Die Siegburger Familie Levison und verwandte Familien'; 3) William and (Charlotte) Engel Levison Collection (AR 25001); 4) Wilhelm Levison Collection (AR 3906)digitize