Correspondence, 1938 June

This collection contains personal correspondence, mainly in German, between the Loewenstein family members. Most of the letters span from late 1937 to late 1938, Eric Loewenstein’s first year in the United States. They revolve around Eric’s efforts at settling in the United States, especially his struggles at finding a job and his attempts to utilize family contacts (mainly his uncles) for this goal. The letters also contain detailed descriptions of events in the immigrant’s daily life, such as going to the dentist or dating, and his reflections on cultural differences between the United States and Germany. Another central theme of the correspondence is Eric and Gerhard Loewenstein’s endeavor to arrange their mother’s escape from Nazi Germany. The last folders of the collection contain numerous love letters by Jeanne Stabin to her future husband.