Carl Laemmle

Growing up my father rarely talked about his past and I really did not have much interest in asking him about it. He did say he was ransomed out of Germany during the Nazi reign of terror in the 1930's by a Hollywood producer and was a tutor to the producer's son teaching him Hebrew since in Germany he was a Hebrew teacher and a Cantor. My father passed away when I was 20 and my mother passed away when I was 37. She left a handwritten will, some financial documents and around 40 or so letters of my father written in German; all in an apparel box. Late 2010, 28 years after my mother passed away, I decided I would like to know more about my ancestry since it was of no concern to me in my youth. I looked into the apparel box and found my fathers letters. One stood out to me in particular, written in Dresden on July 1st, 1937 to Karl Laemmle, the Hollywood producer, in Karlsbad – Hotel Imperial. I do not know why it was in my father's possession. I had it translated and found out that in the letter he agreed to come to America with him. After reading the letter I became intrigued and wanted to learn more about my father's past and my heritage. I searched the internet and found out more about Carl Laemmle and discovered an essay written in 1998 by Udo Bayer for the "Film History Journal" titled 'Laemmle's List.' It discussed among other things Carl Laemmle issuing affidavits to rescue German Jews from the oppression of the Nazi Regime of the 1930's. After reading the essay I realized my father was one of the affidavits on 'Laemmle's List.' This was a major revelation for me.