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Heinz Schwarz photograph collection, approximately 1895-1969

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Schwarz, Heinz, 1927-2005
Title
Heinz Schwarz photograph collection
Dates
approximately 1895-1969 (inclusive)
Quantity
236 photographic prints, 41 negatives (1 box) ; various sizes
Collection Number
PH1393
Summary
Family photographs in Germany, China and Seattle collected by German-Jewish immigrant Heinz Schwarz
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
German, English
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Biographical Note

Heinz Martin Schwarz was born on May 11, 1927 in Berlin, Germany to Walter and Elspeth (Else) Schwarz. The family lived in Weimar, Germany before moving to Gryfino (Greifenhagen in German), a small town on the Oder River in northwest Poland, in 1930. Heinz was born on the cusp of the Nazi era. He was six years old when Adolf Hitler rose to power, and he was 12 at the time the Nazis launched their bid to establish the Third Reich by attacking Poland, precipitating World War II.

In 1939, the Schwarz family fled Nazi Germany for Shanghai, China. They left behind most of their possessions, as well as relatives, including Else's 75 year old mother, "all of whom eventually became victims of the Holocaust," Heinz later wrote in his mother's obituary. The family, along with 20,000 other German and Austrian Jews found a safe haven in Shanghai. Shanghai had previously been a haven for Jewish emigrants fleeing anti-Semitic pogroms in Europe between 1843 and 1937. In the late 1930s, when many other potential havens for Jewish refugees were closing their doors, Shanghai had no entry requirements. By the end of World War II, Shanghai was home to approximately 24,000 Jews. The combination of the founding of Israel in May 1948, and then the founding Communist China in 1949 led many Jews to emigrate to Israel, the United States, and other countries.

In 1948 when they immigrated to Seattle. The family lived at 918 30th Avenue in near Lake Washington. Heinz had experience working as a clerk in a British bank in Shanghai, and continued working with numbers in Seattle. He completed a Bachelor's degree by correspondence and passed a CPA exam. Heinz continued working as an accountant to support himself and his parents. His father died in 1953 and his mother died in 1984 at age 89. Heinz Schwarz died on January 24, 2005 at age 78. He had no living family members at the time of his death, and his estate was divided among several local Jewish community organizations including the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center.

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Content Description

Includes photographs of Walter Schwarz and his family in their hometown of Vierraden, Germany, soldiers and nurses in uniform during World War I, the Jewish community in Shanghai, as well as photographs of the Schwarz house, family and friends in Seattle.

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Other Descriptive Information

Forms part of the Washington State Jewish Archives.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Custodial History

Heinz Schwarz died with no heirs. The collection was donated by Elizabeth Asher, his former attorney and fellow member of Temple Beth Am.

Acquisition Information

Donor: Elizabeth Asher, October 10, 2008.

Processing Note

Preliminary processing by Stefanie Ramsay, 2015; Elizabeth Russell, 2016; Sara Cordes, 2018.

Separated from Heinz Schwarz papers (Acc. 5728-001), 2012.

Separated Materials

Material Described Separately:

Heinz Schwarz Papers (Manuscript Collection 5728)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Nurses--Germany--Photographs
  • Sailors--Germany--Photographs
  • Soldiers--Germany--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
  • World War, 1914-1918--Photographs

Personal Names

  • Schwarz, Elizabeth--Photographs
  • Schwarz, Heinz, 1927-2005--Archives
  • Schwarz, Heinz, 1927-2005--Photographs
  • Schwarz, Walter--Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Germany--Emigration and immigration
  • Germany--Photographs
  • Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.)--Photographs
  • Seattle (Wash.)--Photographs
  • Shanghai (China)--Photographs
  • Tanzania--Photographs

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Washington State Jewish Archives (University of Washington) (host institution)


2016 (Last modified: 1/31/2020)

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