Contents
Descriptive Summary
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL NOTE
SCOPE AND CONTENT OF THE RECORDS
SELECTED SEARCH TERMS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS
Ser.1 Gertrude Weaver’s Correspondence and Log of
Mailings
Ser.2 Memoir and Correspondence from Hans Bergas and his
Family
Ser.3 Other Correspondence
Ser.4 Miscellaneous
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Finding Aid for Gertrude Weaver Refugee Correspondence, 1942-1949Finding Aid Prepared by FHL staff2008
| | | | | Creator | Gertrude Weaver | | Title | Finding Aid for Gertrude Weaver Refugee Correspondence | | Dates: | 1942-1949 | | Abstract: | Gertrude Weaver graduated from Swarthmore College in 1938
with degrees on German and History, and spent her junior year (1936-1937) in Munich.
After graduation, she taught German at Chester High School where she and her
students corresponded sent relief packages to families in Western Europe struggling
to survive in impoverished post-World War II Europe. This collection contains
Weaver’s correspondence with the recipients of her aid, as well as records of the
logistics of the operation. The majority of the correspondence involves the Bergas
family, German refugees living in Montauban, France. | | Extent: | .5 linear ft. | | Identification: | RG6/R3/004 | | Location: | For current information on the location of materials, please
consult the Library's online catalog. | | Location: | |
Gertrude Weaver graduated from Swarthmore College in 1938 with degrees on German and
History. She spent her junior year (1936-1937) in Munich, and went on to receive a
Masters’ degree in teaching from Columbia University in 1939. She then began
teaching German at Chester High School, where she and her students sent relief
packages to families in Western Europe struggling to survive in impoverished
post-World War II Europe. In addition to her career at Chester High School, Weaver
also worked in the Newark School District, at Penn State College, and the Shandong
College of Oceanography in China. She took additional classes at the University of
Maryland and the University of Pennsylvania. Weaver was killed in a car accident in
1998. Return to the Table of Contents
This collection contains Weaver’s correspondence with the recipients of her post WWII
aid, as well as records of the logistics (sending receipts, package contents) of the
operation. The majority of the correspondence follows the Bergas, a family of German
refugees living in Montauban, France. Hans Bergas resisted the Nazis during their
rise to power, and for his political activism was imprisoned and later sent to
Buchenwald concentration camp. Though he was eventually liberated and reunited with
his family, he remained an invalid as a result of brutal conditions and torture.
Because he was forced to remain in bed, Bergas had ample time to correspond with
Weaver and her students, and as a result wrote an extensive account of his
resistance to fascism and his experience in Buchenwald, which he sent to Chester
High School in segments. Weaver eventually attempted to have Hans Bergas’ memoir
published in Readers’ Digest magazine, but it was rejected. For a while, Weaver
reportedly used this memoir in the place of textbooks in her classes. Weaver developed strong and lasting relationships with the families to whom she sent
aid, often corresponding with them during school vacations and holidays,
demonstrating that for her it was more than a class project. She made an effort to
find other families in need of aid, taking suggestions from those she was in contact
with for other families in need, and either corresponded with them directly or put
them in contact with another Americans or groups of Americans interested in relief
work. In addition to her Bergas correspondence, this collection also contains
lengthy correspondence with the Kluth, Kühn, and Rollinger families. The collection is organized into the following series as received: Gertrude Weaver’s Correspondence and Log of MailingsMemoir and Correspondence from Hans Bergas and his FamilyOther CorrespondenceMiscellaneousReturn to the Table of Contents
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Friends
Historical Library (TRIPOD). Researchers desiring materials about related topics,
persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings: Return to the Table of Contents
Ser.1 Gertrude Weaver’s Correspondence and Log of
Mailings
Box |
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| | 1 |
| Letters from Weaver
1947 2mo 21-1948 4mo 10 1 folder Some English, some German. To Kluth family, Bergas family, and Eddie
Ginsburg.
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| Log of mailings to Europe
1946 1mo 29-1948 11mo 23 1 folder In original order. Includes contents of packages, dates sent (usually),
sending receipts, and cost of products.
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Ser.2 Memoir and Correspondence from Hans Bergas and his
Family
Box |
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| | 1 |
| Letters from the Bergas Family
1946 1mo 13-1946 12mo 25 1 folder Letters from the Bergas family, German refugees living in Montauban,
France. All are originals, in German or French; some are translated.
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| Letters from the Bergas family
1947 1mo 23-1948 12mo 5 1 folder All originals, not translated.
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| Correspondence with Bergas family, etc.
1942-1947 6mo 8 1 folder Binder includes other correspondence, photographs, clippings. Kept in
original binder, in original order. Originals and some translations.
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| Hans Bergas’ memoir (partial)
n.d. 1 folder Incomplete sections, typed in German and English.
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| Buchenwald Experience of Hans Bergas Written for Chester High
School Students 1914-1946
1946 1 folder Complete memoir, typed in English with corrections written in in pen.
Includes hand-drawn map, labeled in English.
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| Manuscript of Hans Bergas’ memoir
1946 1 folder Hand-written in German.
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| Enlarged map of Buchenwald
1946 1 folder Hand-copied. On large piece of cardboard, labeled in English.
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Ser.3 Other Correspondence
Box |
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| | 1 |
| Letters from Hertha Parish
1946 7mo 7-1946 8mo 1 1 folder Only record of correspondence with this person, two letters. One letter
in German, one partially in English, partially in German.
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| Letters from Kluth Family
1946 10mo 28-1947 8mo 3 1 folder All originals, not translated.
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| Correspondence with Luxemburg families
1946 1mo 30-1946 8mo 31 1 folder Binder of correspondence with Kühn and Rollinger families. Kept in
original binder, in original order. Originals and some translations
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| Letters from the Vorwerk family
1949 1mo 25-1949 5mo 21 1 folder Two letters. Originals, in German.
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Ser.4 Miscellaneous
Box |
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| | 1 |
| Miscellaneous papers
1945 10mo 6-n.d. 1 folder Includes copies of French government documents (in French), a letter from
Hans Bergas to Genosse Sollman, newspaper clipping about Weaver’s
packages, and guidelines for sending packages by the Fellowship of
Reconciliation.
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