Max Markreich Collection

The Max Markreich collection portrays the life of the Markreich family, and the work and interests of Max Markreich. This collection is particularly strong in the areas of Jewish emigration and the history of the Jews of Bremen and East Frisia (Ostfriesland).

Information on the emigration of Jews from Germany in the 1930s will be found in several parts of the collection. Detailed information on this topic will be found in Series II: Correspondence as well as in Series III: Emigration. Many of the letters of Max Markreich, especially between 1939-1942, concern the Markreich family's emigration out of Germany, to Trinidad and the United States. A large part of this discussion centers on Max Markreich's attempts to secure the affidavit of support required by U.S. immigration authorities of immigrants in order to receive a visa to enter the country. This correspondence is exchanged not only with individuals, but with immigration agencies and organizations. Much of the later emigration correspondence focuses on acquiring U.S. visas for individuals left behind in Trinidad and Bremen, especially Max Markreich's sister's family. Other documents concerning emigration will be found in Series III. These pages include such items as official government documents from Germany, Trinidad, and the United States, including identification, financial, health, and immigration papers. In this series will also be found documents pertaining to the steamer Caribia, which brought the Markreichs to Trinidad, and material on the enemy alien internment camp where they stayed for some time on Trinidad.

The second area where this collection is strong is in providing material on the history of the Jewish communities of Bremen and East Frisia. Almost all of this type of information is located in Series III: Jewish Communities. Documents on Jewish communities include manuscripts of Max Markreich's works on the history of the two regions, as well as his notes on the material. Newspaper clippings and correspondence mentioning related topics, as well as original material, such as Markreich's correspondence and speeches as chairman of the community and minutes of meetings of the Bremen Jewish Community, are also located here.

A third topic of the Max Markreich collection is the genealogy of the Markreich family. Most of this information will be found with the family papers located in Series I. Research notes, narratives, and especially family trees comprise this type of material.

Lastly, a final significant part of this collection is in its accumulation of documents on the destiny of the Jews left behind in Bremen. Correspondence in Series II after 1943 deals largely with individuals seeking missing loved ones, and eventually turns to their fate and the necessity of establishing a memorial and restitution, as well as securing aid for the Bremen survivors of the camps at Minsk and Theresienstadt. Documents on this topic may also be found among the papers of Series IV: Jewish Communities, Subseries 1: Bremen.