David and Genia Levi papers

Collection

Identifier: umja0077

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of correspondence, forms, photographs, and certificates, all dating between 1946 and 1979.

Dates

Creation: 1946-1979

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

Copyright

This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.

Biographical / Historical

Genia Goldberg was born on September 8, 1911 in Lodz, Poland. She married in her twenties and had two sons. In September 1944 she was transported to Salzwedel work camp and later to Auschwitz II (Birkenau) and then Bergen Belsen, which was eventually liberated in April 1945. After her internment she never saw her husband or sons again. After the war she married Mortka Lerner, another Holocaust survivor, in 1946 and had a daughter, Rosa, in July 1947. Morka died in 1948 of lung disease. In 1949 Genia remarried David Levi.

David Levi was born September 20, 1904 in Saloniki, Greece. In April 1929 he married Strea Nissin, and they had three children. In March 1943 David, his wife, their three chidren, along with Davi'd mother and brother were all sent to Auschwitz; all but David were immediately sent to the gas chambers. David labored in Auschwitz, Stuttgart, and other camps until April 1945 when he was ordered to march to Dauchau as part of the "Death March." He was liberated April 22, 1945.

After David and Genia married in 1949, and David adopted Genia's daughter Rosa they looked to leave Europe, eventually settling in New York City in 1950 before eventually making their way to St. Paul, Minnesota. David passed away in 1977 and Genia passed away in 1987.

Extent

0.50 Cubic Feet (1 Hollinger box)

Language of Materials

German

French

Greek, Modern (1453-)

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of the papers of David and Genia Levi, Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the United States in 1950, eventually settling in St. Paul, Minnesota. These papers mostly deal with the Levi's efforts for reparations from the German government.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by type and date.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Collection donated by Rosa (Levi) Liberty to the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest in 2005. Materials briefty resided with the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota from around 2008 until 2016.