Weichert Family Collection

This collection contains the personal papers of Joachim and Käthe Weichert and their son Hans (later John). Included are education records, military records, official documents, medical records, emigration records, photographs, prints of painted portraits, and the Austrian Heritage Collection questionnaire completed by John Wykert in 2000.

Among the Weichert family official documents in folder 1 are birth certificates, tax records, and records of their payment of a levy on Jewish property (Judenvermögensabgabe). Their emigration papers include their correspondence with U.S. authorities regarding visas and proof that they paid taxes (Steuerliche Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigungen). The correspondence in folder 3 consists of a few telegrams and letters to family members in the United States regarding the sponsorship of other relatives still in Europe. Joachim Weichert’s education records consist mainly of lists of the courses they took and their grades. Joachim’s university records are also included as well as proof of his completion of state exams in law. A photograph of him as a young man and a humorous newsletter called the “Kneip Zeitung” are also included with these educational records. Joachim’s military records consist mainly of official records of his posts from 1915, when he voluntarily enlisted, to 1918. He was officially taken off the list of registered service members in 1923. Käthe Weichert’s medical records show that she spent time at the Anton Loew Sanitorium in Vienna in 1924 and again in 1927 to give birth to Hans. The portraits in folder 9 are mainly prints or photocopies of painted portraits with handwritten notes on the back. The identity of the artist is not clear.