Extraordinary archive of letters from Jewish sisters in Germany (1941) to sister in NYC, from brother in Haifa 1941-1950 by (World War II - Jewish Holocaust - Israel)

In German. Archive documenting the Hohenberg family during the Holocaust and after. Some biographical and genealogical details: this is an archive of the four Hohenberg siblings: the oldest, Johanna Hohenberg (b. 1871) married Shimon Gottschalk of Abernach and moved to the Bronx in 1938; the next oldest, Albert Hohenberg, emigrated with his family to Palestine ca. 1940 and lived in Haifa with his wife, son and daughter; Julie Hohenberg (1882-1942) remained in Helmarshausen -- in central Germany a bit NW of Gottingen -- with her sister Frieda (1878-1942); Julie was deported on 6/1/42 to the Izbica ghetto and from there to the Sobibor Death Camp where she was killed on June 3, 1942. Frieda (married name Hess) was also listed as deported, and records indicate she might have been sent to Warsaw where she must have died, as there are no indications she survived past June of 1942. There are 50 letters from Julie and Frieda to their sister in America almost entirely dated 1941 (one dated 1940, and there are two Red Cross "telegrams" dated late May, 1942, signed by both, probably the last communications from either of them before their deportation days later). Most of them are handwritten, a few are typed, all very legible and readable, documenting their travails, their attempts to book passage and get the right papers, the help of their neighbors on Poststrasse to secure them them safe passage, and their optimism and faith, with descriptions of the hardships they endure as well as the small and rarely obtained pleasures of life in the village. There are approximately 70 sides of writing from the two sisters. ALBERT's letters to Johanna Gottschalk also comprise around 50 letters, several of which are typed, but mainly handwritten, filling up both sides of sheets, fairly easy to read, and all written from Moriah Ave. in Haifa, a few dating from the WWII years but mostly from 1945 to 1950, the majority from 1946-48. Approximately 100 sides of writing. The first letters express much concern about the plight of Julie and Frieda, and it is unclear if or when he became aware of their deportation or lives subsequent to Helmarshausen. Most of the letters mention families Johanna and he know, plus information on his kids, his neighbors, trying to find work and figure out life in Palestine. Talk of the Arabs and of Jewish-Arab relations is a central subject, as these were the years right before Israel declared itself a state. Given Haifa's geographical placement up near the Lebanese border, it was far from the center of action, but the same rifts in Arab-Jewish relations present today could be discerned in 1940s Haifa. Besides these two groups of letters, there are approximately 50 other items: letters from the Franken family to Johanna during WWII, letters from Johanna's niece Elli, from Haifa, and miscellaneous other family-related material from the Gottschalk side, some dating back to 1918. In sum, an extraordinary group, documenting an entire spectrum of experiences of the Nazi holocaust, from emigration to the States and to Israel, to deportation and death. Generally in very good condition; in all but a few cases lacking envelopes.