Finding aid for the Stephanie M. Nettl Traub Family Papers


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Traub, Stephanie M. Family
Title: Stephanie M. Nettl Traub Family Papers
Dates: 1921-2005
Extent: 0.40 linear feet (1 container)
Abstract: Relatives of Stephanie M. Nettle Traub lived in Europe and the United States during World War II. The Freedheims, Nettls, and Heitlers corresponded before, during, and after the war regarding immigration to the United States of family members then living in Czechoslovakia. The collection consists of correspondence, affidavits, applications, bills of lading, certificates, legal records, newspaper clippings, passports, and telegrams.
MS Number MS 5016
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English, Czech, French, German and Hebrew

Biography of the Stephanie M. Bettle Traub Family

The family of Stephanie M. Nettl Traub lived in Europe and the United States before World War II and exchanged correspondence before the war, during the war, and shortly thereafter. The Freedheim (from Cleveland, Ohio,) and Nettl (from Czechoslovakia) families are related by the common surname Heitler. The Freedheim family immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia around the late nineteenth century. Carrie W. Heitler (b.1875) also immigrated to the U.S., in the late nineteenth century, and married Alfred A. Freedheim (b.1869) on April 26, 1899. Carrie's sister, Olga Heitler (b.1872), remained in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Alfred and Carrie Freedheim had one son, Eugene H. (1900-1984). In 1926, Eugene Freedheim settled in Cleveland, Ohio, to practice law. In 1927, he married Mina Koperlik (1901-1933) and they had three children: Joan and twins David E. and Donald K. Freedheim.

In Prague, Czechoslovakia, Olga Heitler married Otto Nettl (1874-1943) and they had two children: Stephanie M. Nettl (1902-1979) and Richard Nettl (B. 1908). Stephanie M. Nettl married Harry H. Traub (d. 1944). They had one son, George L. Traub (1926-1980). Richard Nettl married Hilda Pick (1910-1944) and they had a daughter, Jane (1936-1944).

With the help of her cousin, Eugene Freedheim, Stephanie Traub, her husband Harry, and son George, fled Czechoslovakia in 1939 shortly after the German occupation in March of that year. The Traubs traveled to France and England before immigrating to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1941. Their son, George L. Traub, served in the U.S. military, in the Pacific Theater, during World War II.

Despite extensive efforts to obtain immigration visas through the sponsorship of the Freedheims, Schlafers, and others, Richard Nettl and his family remained in Czechoslovakia and Poland. Richard, Hilde, and Jane Nettl were deported to Auschwitz in 1944 by the occupying German forces. Richard Nettl survived Auschwitz and Theresienstadt; however, Hilde and Jane were sent to death immediately upon their arrival at Auschwitz. After the war, Richard returned to Prague and married Hilde Miketova (b. 1922). They had two sons, Tom and John Nettl.

Stephanie and Harry Traub opened their first Bo-Peep Shoppe, a store featuring children's clothes at 798 East 105th Street in Cleveland in 1941. Eventually, there were several such shops around the East Side of Cleveland, with the largest on E. 185th Street in Euclid, Ohio. Harry Traub died in 1943 and Stephanie remarried his cousin, George Traub, on August 9, 1944. George F. and Stephanie M. Traub continued to operate the children's clothing shops until closing the business in 1966.

In Cleveland, both Eugene and Mina Freedheim were active in the Cleveland Jewish and civic communities. Eugene became a managing partner in the law firm of Hahn, Loeser, Freedheim, Dean and Wellman and Mina was devoted to women's rights and was an early activist in the freedom of choice movement.


Scope and Content

The Stephanie M. Nettl Traub Family Papers, 1921-2005 and undated, consist of correspondence, affidavits, applications, bills of lading, certificates, legal records, newspaper clippings, passports, and telegrams. This collection traces the attempts of several American Jewish families to attain immigration visas for their relatives in German-occupied Europe. The included correspondence details these attempts, emigration from Europe, the experience of Czech relatives in concentration camps, and post-war efforts to have surviving relatives immigrate to the United States.

The researcher should note that the correspondence often refers to family members by nickname: Richard's sister Stephanie is Steffie, her husband George F. Traub is Jiri, Stephanie and Harry Traub's son George is Mac or Maci. Richard signs his letters Radu or Rida. Correspondence is in English unless otherwise noted. The collection includes correspondence in Czech, French, German, and Hebrew.

This collection is of value to individuals studying the history of the immigration policies of the United States during the World War II era (1939-1947). Correspondence details the efforts of American Jews to aid immigration of their European relatives to the United States. Included are official and personal correspondence demonstrating attempts on the parts of Americans Eugene Freedheim, Charles E. Feinberg, and Nathan and Adele Schlafer to ensure passage to the United States on behalf of the Nettl and Traub families from Czechoslovakia and England, respectively. After the war, similar attempts were made on behalf of relatives who had survived the Holocaust. The collection is also of interest to researchers seeking information on Jewish existence in World War II Europe and in the German concentration camps of Auschwitz and Theresienstadt.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by document type.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Cleveland (Ohio) -- Emigration and immigration.
Freedheim family.
Freedheim, Eugene H., 1900-1984.
Heitler family.
Jews -- Czechoslovakia -- Correspondence.
Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Correspondence.
Nettl, Olga, b. 1872.
Nettl, Otto, 1874-1943.
Nettl, Richard, b. 1908.
Nettles family.
Traub family.
Traub, George L., 1926-1980.
Traub, Harry, d. 1944.
Traub, Stephanie M., 1902-1979.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___] MS 5016 Stephanie M. Nettl Traub Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Donald K. Freedheim in 2006.

Processing Information

Processed by Rachel Oley and Greg Corkran in 2008.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Stephanie M. Nettl Traub Family Papers 1921-2005 undated

Box Folder
1 1 Certificates, Steffi Traub 1921-1940
1 2 Passport, Steffie Traub 1929-1932
1 3 Correspondence, Heitler family and Steffi Traub 1939
1 4 Correspondence, Steffi Traub and Eugene Freedheim 1939
1 5 Application, national registration for Great Britain, Herman and Steffi Traub 1939-1940
1 6 Correspondence, Eugene Freedheim and Richard Nettl 1939-1941
1 7 Correspondence, Eugene Freedheim, Richard Nettl, Adele Schlafer, and Steffi Traub 1939-1941
1 8 Correspondence, Richard Nettl and Steffi, Herman, and George Traub 1939-1941 undated
1 9 Correspondence (German), Steffi Traub, Herman Traub, Otto and Olga Heitler 1939-1941 undated
1 10 Correspondence (Czech), Steffi and Herman Traub 1939-1943
1 11 Correspondence regarding immigration, Traub and Nettl families 1939-1946
1 12 Affidavits for admission, George, Herman, and Steffi Traub 1940
1 13 Correspondence, Eugene Freedheim and Heitler family 1940
1 14 Bill of lading, British Commercial Transport 1940
1 15 Correspondence, Steffi Traub and Eugene Freedheim 1940-1941
1 16 Correspondence regarding immigration, George Traub 1940-1941
1 17 Correspondence regarding travel, Steffi Traub and Eugene Freedheim 1940-1941
1 18 Affidavit for admission, Otto and Olga Nettl 1941
1 19 Newspaper clippings 1941
1 20 Correspondence, Steffie Traub, Eugene and Mina Freedheim 1941-1942 undated
1 21 Correspondence regarding immigration, sponsor Eugene Freedheim for Heitler family 1941-1942
1 22 Legal records, Herman Traub, New Bargain Store 1941-1943
1 23 Correspondence, Eugene Freedheim, Nettl, Traub, and Heitler families 1945
1 24 Correspondence (some notes in Czech), Richard Nettl and Steffi Traub 1945
1 25 Correspondence (Czech), Steffi Traub, Olga Heitler, and Richard Nettl 1945 undated
1 26 Correspondence, Steffi Traub and Olga Heitler 1945-1946
1 27 Correspondence regarding immigration, sponsors Eugene Freedheim, George and Steffi Traub on behalf of Olga, Richard, and Hilde Nettl 1945-1947 undated
1 28 Affidavit for admission, Frantiska Sury 1946
1 29 Correspondence (Czech), Steffi and George Traub, Olga Heitler, and Richard Nettl 1946
1 30 Correspondence, Steffi Traub and Olga, Richard, and Hilde Heitler 1946
1 31 Correspondence (some notes in Czech), Richard Nettl and Steffi, George, and George Traub 1946 undated
1 32 Affidavits for admission, Olga, Richard, and Hilde Nettl 1946-1947
1 33 Correspondence, Steffi Traub, friends 1947
1 34 Correspondence (some notes in Czech), Traub and Netl families 1947
1 35 Correspondence (Czech, French, German), Steffi Traub, friends 1947
1 36 Correspondence (Czech), Steffi Traub and Olga Heitler 1947
1 37 Correspondence (Czech), Steffi Traub, George Traub, Olga Heitler, Richard and Hilda Nettl 1947
1 38 Correspondence (Czech), Richard and Tom Nettl 1964
1 39 Correspondence (German and Hebrew), Helene Barsky and Steffi Traub 1966
1 40 Newspaper clippings 1981-2005
1 41 Telegrams undated