TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Finding Aid to the Peretz (Perry) Milbauer Correspondence. 1943-1945.
Manuscript Collection No. 828
Funding, in part, for the arrangement and description of this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications
and Records Commission.
Introduction |
|
| Repository: | The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives |
| Creator: | Milbauer, Peretz (Perry), 1915–2010 |
| Title: | Peretz (Perry) Milbauer Correspondence |
| Dates: | 1943-1945 |
| Quantity: | 0.8 linear feet (2 Hollinger boxes) |
| Abstract: | This collection consists of letters written by Peretz (Perry) Milbauer to his wife, Blanche Milbauer, during his time (1943–1945) as a Sergeant in the 179th Engineer Combat Battalion, US Army, in World War II. |
| Collection Number: | MS-828 |
| Language: | Collection material in English. |
Biographical Sketch
Peretz (Perry) Milbauer was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1915. Joining the U.S. Army in 1943, he served as a Sergeant in the 179th Engineer Combat Battalion, during World War II and at the end of the war was involved in the liberation of Jews from Nazi death camps. After returning home, he spent his career as a history teacher and administrator in New York City Public Schools. He died in 2010.
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists of letters written by Peretz (Perry) Milbauer to his wife, Blanche Milbauer, during his time (1943–1945) as a Sergeant in the 179th Engineer Combat Battalion, US Army, in World War II. Letters written almost daily, sometimes more frequently, serve as a makeshift diary of daily life in the military from basic training through the end of the war. In April 1945, Milbauer’s battalion encountered thousands of survivors on a death march who were abandoned on the road when Nazi officials fled as the US Army advanced. Several letters describe the profound effect this, and other encounters with Holocaust survivors, had on Milbauer, himself a Jew, as his battalion helped feed and supply survivors from various concentration camps throughout Europe. Included with the letters are handwritten notes by Milbauer providing further detail and explanation of the content and context of the correspondence.
Box 1, Folder 1 contains “Chosen Letters,” which are letters of particular interest or historical value which were separated from chronological order by Milbauer. In addition, Box 2, Folder 11 contains miscellaneous explanatory information, written or compiled by Milbauer to provide context to his letters.
Arrangement Note
This collection is arranged in one (1) series:
Restrictions
Terms of Access and Use
This collection is open to all users. The original manuscript collection is available in the Barrows-Loebelson Reading Room of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.
Property and Literary Rights
Perry Milbauer, by the act of donating the Peretz (Perry) Milbauer Correspondence to the American Jewish Archives, assigned all property rights to the American Jewish Archives. Literary rights are retained by Perry Milbauer and his heirs. Literary rights may also be retained by specific creators of materials.
Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. For more information see the American Jewish Archives copyright information webpage.
Related Material
Related Collections
Originals of two letters written in Yiddish (April 15, 1945 and April 16, 1945) are at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York, N.Y.
Separated Material
Correspondence between Blanche Milbauer and Jacob Rader Marcus on the Rader/Reider family genealogy were separated and cataloged as a small collection: SC-15818.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Peretz (Perry) Milbauer Correspondence and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows:
[Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-828. Peretz (Perry) Milbauer Correspondence. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Provenance
The Peretz (Perry) Milbauer Correspondence were received from Peretz (Perry) Milbauer, New York, N.Y. in December, 2004.
Processing Information
Processed by Michelle Wirth, September, 2011.
This collection was arranged and described according to minimal-processing standards. Funding, in part, for the arrangement and description of this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Accruals and Additions
No further accruals are expected to this collection.
Box Folder Listing
Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the American Jewish Archives's online catalog.