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Rudolph Singer Collection

 Collection
Identifier: A3026

Scope and Contents

With only a few exceptions, all of these documents and letters have been published in Never Forget: My Family’s Flight from Nazi Terror by Tom Singer (Missouri History Museum Library call number: St.L./B/Si617n). The book recounts the Singers’ flight to America and their time New York City before coming to St. Louis and provides some genealogy for the Stern and Singer families. The collection consists of correspondence and personal documents concerning Rudolph Singer’s life in Germany and his family’s escape from Nazi Germany. The collection is arranged into two small series: the Rudolf Singer Series, 1918-1944 and the Wallace Rindskopf Series, 1938-c.1945. Both series are arranged in chronological order. The Rudolph Singer Series, 1918-1944 consists of official documents and identification cards belonging to Rudolph, Elsbeth, and Thomas Singer along with small photographs of Tom Singer at age 2. The earliest document is a military pass from Rudolph’s service in the German Army during World War I and after, 1918-1920. There is a certificate from General von Hindenberg honoring Rudolph’s military service. Also present are Rudolph’s driver’s license, work accord, national identity card, and membership card along with Certificates of Origin and U.S. Certificates of Naturalization for both Rudolph and Elsbeth. Elsbeth saved the List of Passengers on the ship that brought them to New York City, the New Amsterdam. Note that the family’s German passports, dated 1935 and 1938, are all marked with a red “J” on the first page to designate their Jewish status. While still in Germany, Rudolph Singer used the spelling Rudolf, but changed to the Americanized spelling, Rudolph, when he arrived in this country. His wife’s name was changed from Elsbet to Elsbeth or Elizabeth. The descriptions in this inventory maintain the spellings used in each individual document. The Wallace Rindskopf Series, 1938-c.1945 consists mostly of letters and one photograph of Rindskopf and his wife, Bobbi. The letters relate to his efforts to get the Singer family to the United States in 1938 and 1939. Included is the first letter between Julius Stern and Wallace Rindskopf, dated 13 February 13 1938, in which Julius Stern asks for aid getting the Singer family out of Germany. Stern also wrote to Wallace’s brother, Alexander (Ally) Rindskopf and the brothers wrote to one another while trying to decide what action to take. Please note that the letters written by Rindskopf are carbon copies that he most likely retained for his own records. Rindskopf’s correspondents include: Flora Stern (Julius’ wife), Rudolf Singer, Cecilia Razovsky of the National Coordination Committee, Sara Dukore of the National Council of Jewish Women, Adolph Buell, Jacob H. Kravitz. There are several letters and a few telegrams between Rindskopf and Singer. The Singers had to obtain permission to travel in France. There is a letter dated 19 October 1938 from the Supreme Council of the Israeli Religious Community of Wurtemmberg to the French Consulate requesting assistance for the Singers’ passage through France to Rotterdam. The letters, particularly Rindskopf’s copies of his outgoing letters, provide details of the process that was necessary to get a Jewish family out of Nazi Germany in 1938.

Dates

  • 1918-1945

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, quote from, or reproduce material in this collection, please contact the Archives Reference Desk at archives@mohistory.org. Copyright restrictions may apply. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.

Biographical Sketch

Rudolph Singer was born October 5, 1899, in Rottweil, Germany. He married Elsbeth Stern, daughter of Julius and Louise Stern, who was ten years his junior. They had one son, Thomas Michael Singer, who was born on 1 March 1936. By 1940, Rudolph was working as a clerk at the Wohl Shoe Company in St. Louis and continued to work there until his retirement in 1970. Rudolph died on 20 November 1986, at age 87 and was buried at Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol Cemetery. Elsbeth died on 7 May 1999, at age 90, at her home in St. Louis. Rudolph was a lawyer in Stuttgart, Germany, until the Nazi’s anti-Semitic laws forbade Jewish men to practice law in 1933. By 1938, Rudolph and Elsbeth’s parents, the Stern’s, sought asylum for the Singer family in the United States after considering Palestine and Australia. Julius Stern contacted Wallace Rindskopf in St. Louis, his wife’s cousin, to ask for help in getting Rudolph, Elsbeth, and Thomas Singer out of Germany. Wallace Rindskopf was born on 30 September 30 1885, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Pauline and Theodor Rindskopf. Wallace was secretary-treasurer for the Rosenthal Paper Company in St. Louis. Wallace Rindskopf died August 19, 1962, and was buried at Mount Sinai Cemetery in St. Louis. Julius Stern contacted Wallace Rindskopf and his brother, Alexander, in February 1938 asking for their assistance in getting his daughter’s family, the Singers, to America. By July 1938, Wallace signed an affidavit that allowed the Singer family to leave Germany. The family had to leave Germany earlier than planned, a few nights after Kristallnacht, because the Nazis were looking for Rudolf, who hid during the day away from his family. The Singers secured a flight to France and stayed with relatives as they made their way to their ship in Rotterdam. They arrived in New York City on the SS New Amsterdam on 15 December 1938, and came to St. Louis in January 1939.

Extent

0.12 Cubic Feet ( (4 folders))

Language of Materials

English

German

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into two small series: the Rudolf Singer Series, 1918-1944 and the Wallace Rindskopf Series, 1938-c.1945. Both series are arranged chronologically.

Physical and Technical Requirements

There are no physical or technical restrictions.

Donor Information

The collection was donated by Thomas Singer, son of Rudolph and Elsbeth Singer, in 2012 (accession number 2012-222).

Existence and Location of Copies

Never Forget: My Family’s Flight from Nazi Terror by Tom Singer (Missouri History Museum Library call number: St.L./B/Si617n). The Rudolph Singer Collection was digitized by John Stanze in July-August 2023. The images may be viewed online by clicking the links beside each item in the inventory.

Processing Information

Processed by Mercedez Clewis, March 2015; completed with funding from The Stuart Foundation, Inc. by Kristina Perez, 2017.

Creator

Title
Inventory of Rudolph Singer Collection
Status
Completed
Author
EAD by Kristina Perez using ArchivesSpace
Date
2017
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center Repository

Contact:
225 S. Skinker Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63105 United States
314-746-4510