Willy Wertheimer Collection 1892-1980

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence relating to his efforts as the committee chairman of the Forest of the Jews Formerly from Central Europe and of the Martyrs' Forest, both under the umbrella of the Jewish National Fund Trees for Israel project. Much of these trees were planted near Haifa, and are dedicated to German and Central European Jews, especially to those who served in World War I and to the victims of the Nazi dictatorship. The other series encompass his research into his own family history and genealogy, his autobiographical and other writings, and his involvement with congregations in New York. In addition to correspondence and writings, the collection contains a number of photos, a substantial number of printed posters and brochures for the Jewish National Fund, newsletters and bulletins of several German and New York City congregations, family trees, and personal documents.Born in Hardheim on March 26, 1897, Willy Wertheimer emigrated to the United States circa 1939 and lived in New York City. He served in the German army during World War I, for which he received honors and medals from both the German and Austrian governments, and later he served in United States Army during World War II. He was cantor and religion teacher for the general region of Odenwald from 1918-1938, with tenures first in Buchen and then in Hardheim, where upon his father Emanuel's death he inherited his position as religious instructor. After emigrating to the United States, he remained deeply tied to the German Jewish community in New York and in Europe, and continued work as a cantor and religious instructor at various Brooklyn temples with German Jewish congregations. Shortly after the end of the second World War, he began working in his free time on two major projects: German-Jewish reconciliation, and the planting of memorial trees in Israel dedicated to the memory of the fallen German-Jewish soldiers of the first World War. During his final decades, especially during the 1970s, he devoted an increasing amount of time to these projects. He also became interested in genealogy during these years. In 1976 he self-published an autobiography entitled 'Zwichen zwei Welten: der Förster von Brooklyn' ('Between two worlds: the Brooklyn forest ranger'). William Wertheimer died in New York in 1980.The original German-language inventory is available in folder 1.digitize