Richard Straus family collection 1925-2000 1940-1986
This collection contains the documents of diplomat Richard Straus, his wife Elaine, and his son Alan, in addition to documentation on extended family members, especially including members of the Straus, Heimberger, and Niedermann families. The most prominent topics relate to Richard Straus's ca...
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| Format: | Still Image |
| Language: | German English |
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| Online Access: | http://digital.cjh.org/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=4834088&custom_att_2=simple_viewer |
| Summary: | This collection contains the documents of diplomat Richard Straus, his wife Elaine, and his son Alan, in addition to documentation on extended family members, especially including members of the Straus, Heimberger, and Niedermann families. The most prominent topics relate to Richard Straus's career; family members' emigration and Holocaust experiences; and Alan Straus's early life. Also present are materials relating to family members' lives in Germany prior to the 1930s. The collection includes extensive personal family correspondence and photographs; official, educational, and professional documents; family members' writings as well as articles about them; childhood and educational memorabilia; and documentation related to the deaths of family members. The LBI Archives includes the related collection Familienbuch des Geschlechtes Strauß in Grombach (AR 5551). Two books by Richard Straus were removed to the LBI Library: Coal, Steel, Atoms, and Trade: the Challenge of Uniting Europe and Communications and International Trade: a Symposium. Richard Siegmund Straus was born on December 28, 1925 in Karlsruhe, Germany, the only son of the bank director Julius Strauss and his wife Gertrude (née Heimberger). Richard's early education in Karlsruhe was at the Grund- und Hauptschule Karlsruhe, Volkschule Karlsruhe, and the Gymnasium Karlsruhe. In Julius Straus was sent to the concentration camp Dachau and Richard Straus was forced to leave school. In July 1939 Julius and Gertrude Straus sent Richard by Kindertransport to Wales while they acquired immigration visas for the United States with the support of Julius Straus's cousin, Joseph Smith, in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Richard spent his year in Wales attending the Garw Secondary School until he was able to join his parents in Baltimore. In Baltimore, Richard Straus studied at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute until and helped to support his family. In July of 1944 Richard was inducted into the United States; he fought in the European theater of war and later worked as an interpreter for the American occupation forces. After his discharge from the military in September 1946, Richard Straus attended night courses at George Washington University's School of Foreign Service, from which he received his Bachelor's degree in 1950. He worked in civil service at the Pentagon and at the State Department, where he met his future wife, Elaine Scharoff. Elaine Scharoff, born Lillian Sprina Scharoff, had grown up in Rochester, New York, having been raised first by her grandparents and later by her cousins. After high school she worked for the civil service during World War II, until she was transferred to the Pentagon in 1946, and later moved to a position at the State Department. Richard and Elaine married on December 29, 1951; in January of 1952 Richard was sent to Bonn, Germany, for his work with the State Department. On November 1, 1952 their son Alan was born in Baltimore. 1958-1963 Richard Straus served as a consul at the American embassy in Vienna, Austria, serving also on the Board of Trustees of the American International School in Vienna. He then worked for the Foreign Service in various positions in Canada. 1972 through 1978 he was director of the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' Western European Division. In this position he helped to develop the Fulbright Commission Program, including making agreements with Japan, Spain, and Germany. He was also a Foreign Service inspector in Mexico. In 1979 Richard Straus retired from the State Department; that same year Germany awarded him the Große Verdienstkreuz (Greater Cross of Merit) and Spain the Orden de Isabel la Católica (Order of Isabella the Catholic. He continued working in various advising positions and wrote articles for newspapers such as Aufbau and Allgemeine jüdische Wochenzeitung as well as for professional publications such as the Department of State Bulletin and the Foreign Service Journal. In 1962 and again in 1982 he published two books. He also worked on projects for the West German government reviewing the presentation of Jewish and Nazi-era history in West German school textbooks. On October 4, 1986, Richard and Elaine Straus were hit by a drunk driver on their way to Rosh Hashanah services in Baltimore. Richard Straus died that day, while Elaine Straus was severely injured. She passed away two years later. Richard Straus Finding Aid available online Processed |
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