Jacoby family: personal papers

This collection contains the papers of the Jacobys, a Jewish family from Berlin. Only one of the children, Henny Prax, managed to emigrate to England via Czechoslovakia. Her brother and parents were unable to leave the country in time and were later deported to Auschwitz concentration camp where they perished.

Included are correspondence with relatives and acquaintances abroad regarding affidavits and visas for the family's emigration; work references and CVs; Hand-Bernd's school reports; copies of medical certificates; Henny Prax's letters from family and friends; correspondence and photographs relating to Ludwig Jacoby's service in the army in the First World War; correspondence with the International Tracing Service regarding confirmation of deportation of Ludwig, Dorothea and Hans-Bernd Jacoby; family tree; family photographs and negatives; interview with Henny Prax conducted by University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Institute (1997).

Ludwig Jacoby (1880-c1943) and Dorothea Salinger (1890-c1943) got married in 1911. Ludwig Jacoby served in the third medical corps (Sanitäts-Kompanie) in the First World War. Upon his return from the war he took over his father's business trading in wool in Pasewalk (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). They had two children: Henny (born 1916) and Hans-Bernd (1921-c1943), who lost his hearing after a childhood illness. The family moved to Berlin in 1928. Dorothea Jacoby worked at a Jewish credit institution, Juedische Dahrlehenskasse, between 1930 and 1939 until the company went into liquidation. In 1934 Ludwig Jacoby started working as controller for C G Strohbach, a major fabrics company. He was dismissed when the company was aryanised in 1938. Hans-Bernd Jacoby was no longer able to attend the public school for deaf-mutes in 1936 with the passing of Arian legislation. He had to transfer to a Jewish school to complete his education. In April 1937 he started his traineeship in dressmaking but was dismissed for being Jewish one year later. He then entered into apprenticeship with a Jewish company until they had to close down in December 1938. Henny Jacoby emigrated to Bohosudov (Mariaschein), Czechoslovakia, in 1936 where she lived until 1938, when she left for England. Her parents and brother stayed behind, as it was particularly difficult to arrange for Hans-Bernd's emigration. However, Merseyside Co-ordinating Committee for Refugees stated in a letter dated 25 August 1939 that the case of Hans-Bernd Jacoby was completed but it was too late for the family to leave the country with the outbreak of the war being imminent. Ludwig, Dorothea and Hans-Bernd Jacoby were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in March 1943.

Henny married Leslie Lazarus Goldmann (1912-1961) with whom she had one son, Hans Bernard in 1954. After the death of her husband, Henny got remarried in 1962.

Chronological and by subject

See Wiener Library access conditions at: http://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/usinglibrary/usingthelibrary.aspx

Donated by Henny Prax

2010/13

See photo archive for photographs (2010/13) and photo server for interview with Henny Prax (also on CD)