Ruth Schiller-Taenzer Collection 1942-2003

The collection contains a transcript of an interview with Ruth Schiller-Taenzer, which was recorded on August 18, 2003. Topics discussed in the interview include her family's life in Berlin before World War II, including Ruth's experiences at Jewish schools, the family's house in Berlin, and friends and neighbors; experiences during Kristallnacht; emigration from Germany to the United States; living arrangements in New York; attending school in New York; friends and family in New York; meeting her husband Erwin Taenzer; clubs and associations for young adults in the German-Jewish community in New York; and interactions with Eastern European Jews in Germany and American Jews in New York. Also included is a brief essay by Ruth Taenzer entitled "Growing Up Scared," which includes discussion of anti-Semitism she experienced in school in Berlin; Kristallnacht; and her family's immigration to the United States. Naturalization certificates for Ruth Taenzer's parents Joseph and Anna Schiller and the family's membership certificate for the Loyalty Committee of Victims of Nazi-Fascist Oppression are also included.Ruth Schiller was born on March 13, 1925, in Berlin to Joseph and Anna Schiller. They immigrated to the United States in April 1939.Processed for digitizatio