Toczek Family Collection

This collection consists of the personal papers of Heinrich, Hanna-Herta, and Peter Toczek, the bulk of which stems from the time between 1910 and the family's immigration to the U.S. in 1938. The inventory in folder 1 includes an English-language biographical note and an item-level list of materials written in German. Attached to this is a family tree. Both the inventory and the family tree were compiled in 1979 by the Leo Baeck archivist at the time. Heinrich Toczek’s materials include vital records, World War I military records, education records from secondary school (Gymnasium) and medical studies at the University of Berlin, and official correspondence concerning Toczek’s dismissal from medical practice in 1933. Folder 3 contains materials mainly related to the Toczek family's immigration, including letters of recommendation and official correspondence. Also included with this material are letters reflecting Heinrich Toczek's efforts to become licensed to practice medicine after arrival in the United States. Hanna-Herta Toczek’s materials include records of her education and career as a kindergarten teacher and social worker in Berlin. Peter Toczek’s materials consist mainly of his school grades from the Private Knaben Volksschule der jüdischen Gemeinde Berlin, a school for Jewish boys who were not permitted to attend school elsewhere. The family papers in folder 6 include vital records of other family members, correspondence regarding the Henschel family inheritance, a memorial (Jahrzeit) book for Max Toczek, and correspondence regarding burial plots in Berlin. This folder also includes the 1938 death certificate of Rosa Toczek alongside a note that seems to have been written by her to her children, possibly near the time of her death. The correspondence in folder 7 is ordered alphabetically within the folder by the name of the correspondent. Letters were sent to the Toczeks from relatives and friends in Berlin as well as others who had fled to Shanghai. A few letters from the 1950s-1970s sent from relatives in Israel and the United States are included. Oversized materials include Heinrich Toczek’s diplomas and World War I-era front pages of the Berlin Lokal Anzeiger newspaper, one announcing the assassination of the Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand and his wife, and another with a statement by Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph.