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Records in the World ORT Archive relating to ORT's activities in Berlin, Germany, the Berlin ORT school, and its transfer to Leeds, UK. 

The Berlin-Leeds ORT school, 1937-1943. 

In 1937 an ORT school was established in Berlin to provide technical education for Jewish boys excluded from state schools by the Nazis. Because of the increasingly precarious position of Jews in Nazi Germany, ownership of the school buildings and equipment was registered under British ORT (today’s ORT UK).

Arranged into the following sub-collections:

Governance 
WO/4/12/1-4 

Description: Documents and correspondence related to registration and governance of World ORT Union and ORT Germany in Germany, 1921-1942 (see separate list for full details). Includes registration documents, constitution and by laws and minutes. 

Reports:

Archive RefDigital RefTitle/description
WO/1/3/4/2/1d06b236The Position of the Technical School of the ORT in Berlin. Report submitted by I. Koralnik, General Secretary of the Central Executive of the ORT Union. December 1938. [DC/0120/10]. 
 d06b515Fortnightly report on the Leeds school for the period 14-27 April 1940 submitted to World ORT Union’s headquarters by Director Heilborn, 27 April 1940 [DC0121_06].
WO/2/8/3d09a032Letter from the Central Board Executive to British ORT-OSE regarding arrangements for the Berlin ORT school in Richborough, Kent, following its transfer to the UK, 1939
Archive RefDigital RefTitle/ description
WO/4/47/32/3d06c883Letter concerning an ORT Berlin school student, Paul Wald, March 1939 [DC/0127/04].
 d06c919Telegram re Berlin-Leeds school, 7 September 1939 [DC/0127/04].
WO/2/8/3d09a032Letter from the Central Board Executive to British ORT-OSE regarding arrangements for the Berlin ORT school in Richborough, Kent, following its transfer to the UK, 11 September 1939. 
 d08a094[copy] Letter from Adolph Eichmann to ORT, Siemens str. 15, 21 March 1941. Letter signed on behalf of Eichmann, informing ORT that in accordance with new laws from 1939, "ORT, Gesellschaft zur Foerderung des Handwerks und der Landwirtschaft unter den Juden, Abteilung Deutschland" will be integrated with the "Association of Jews in Germany". 
 d07a154Regulations of the Leeds ORT Technical & Engineering School, 27 November 1939.
 d07a155Our New ORT – Hostels in Leeds – account by A. Lewinsky (student), February 1940. 
WO/4/16/10/1d10a020[copy] British ORT Publicity pamphlet, undated (c.1940): The O.R.T. and O.S.E.: From Despair to Hope: A Constructive Form of Help. 
 d13a055ORT Technical Engineering School – Leeds Monthly Magazine, No. 1, January 1941.
 d13a056ORT Technical Engineering School – Leeds Monthly Magazine, No. 2, February 1941. 
 d13a057ORT Technical Engineering School – Leeds Monthly Magazine, No. 3, March 1941. 
WO/5/5/1/1d11a058ORT Technical Engineering School – Leeds Monthly Magazine, No. 4, April 1941. 
 d14a003ORT Technical Engineering School – Leeds Monthly Magazine, No. 5, May-June 1941. 
 d07a156ORT Technical Engineering School – Leeds Monthly Magazine, No. 6, undated [1941]. 
 d14a004ORT Technical Engineering School – Leeds Monthly Magazine, No. 7, undated [winter 1941]. Includes a list of students and their contact addresses. 
WO/7/4/2/2/46d08a093Copy of certificate issued to E. G. J. Fontheim, a teacher at the school, by the ORT school in Berlin, dated April 24, 1941 [DC/0109]. 
 d14a002ORT Leeds school song, c. 1940-1942. 
 d10a019Letters from Past and Present Students of the ORT Technical Engineering School, Leeds. Pamphlet. British ORT OSE Committee, London, c.1942. 
PC/SPE/FTF/p00a036d00a003[copy] Postcard sent by Werner Simon from Theresienstadt, 22 November 1943. 

 

Archive RefDigital RefTitle/ description
 d04a010Letter from former student Henry (Hans) Futter describing the Berlin school and the transfer to Leeds, 1966.
WO/7/4/2/2/31 Correspondence with Dr Arthur Feige, a teacher and Deputy Director of the [formerly RG/2/7/100] ORT school in Berlin, October 1977. Includes a certificate made out to Mr. Arthur Israel Feige by ORT Berlin, April 17, 1941. [DC0106; formerly RG/2/7/100].
 d07a164 – d07a166Correspondence regarding photographs from the Berlin school [PA39]. Includes: letter from Brian Strum to John Heller re his commentary on Berlin school photos, August 1999; letter from Brian Strum to Robert Singer re enclosed photographs and commentary, August 1999; document entitled John Heller comments on ORT Berlin Photo Album, 24 August 1999 
[scanned] (with copies of related photos – taken from album, which is part of ORT Works collection). 
 d11a003Letter from Henry Levey to Old Boys following reunion, 21 May 1962. Received from Sue Gessler. 
 d12a113Transcript of oral history interview with H. H. Behrendt, former Headmaster of the ORT Berlin school and later a teacher at the ORT Leeds school. Conducted by Michael Henry, c 1978.
Archive RefTitle/ description
WO/7/7/2 Herbert Stein papers: ORT Berlin, 1940-1941, 1940 - May 2011. Papers relating to Herbert Stein's experience at the ORT Berlin school during WWII. Includes correspondence between ORT Germany and Mr Stein's parents; original records relating to entrance exams, enrollment; fees; and diploma (1940-41); correspondence between Mr Stein and ORT America (2011), deposit letter transferring ownership to World ORT and giving permission to use documents (2011), supporting documentation, including letter to relatives explaining the background and providing a list with brief translation of each document (1996); and correspondence relating to Stein’s support of ORT in the 1980s. 
WO/7/7/2/1Correspondence between Mr Stein and ORT regarding his donation of documents to the World ORT Archive, April 2011.
WO/7/7/2/2Letter from Herbert Stein to June and Fred Kern regarding documents relating to his experiences in ORT Berlin in 1940-41, 18 September 1996.
WO/7/7/2/3Letter from ORT Berlin accepting Herbert Stein as a student, March 1940.
WO/7/7/2/4Notice to Mr Stein of appointment for medical and technical aptittude examination for his son Herbert, April 1940.
WO/7/7/2/5Circular, accepting Herbert Stein to the Berlin ORT school, 4 April 1940.
WO/7/7/2/6 Acknowledgement by ORT that Herbert Stein will receive training in locksmithery effective 8 April 1940, 4 April 1940.
WO/7/7/2/7Letter from ORT to Ludwig Stein regarding school fees, 6 April 1940.
WO/7/7/2/8ORT diploma No. 405, awarded to Herbert Stein by the ORT school in Berlin, 5 September 1941.
WO/7/7/2/9Letter from Jack Rader to Herbert Stein regarding forthcoming visit to Morocco, 7 October 1981.
WO/7/7/2/10Thank you letter from ORT Morocco in response to Mr & Mrs Stein's donation of $100, 15 October 1981.
WO/7/7/3Edgar (Eddie) Lax papers, 1939-1942. Papers relating to Mr Lax's time as a student at the ORT Leeds school. Includes: text books used by Lax during his time at the school; exercise books; and technical drawings made while a student. 
Archive RefDigital RefTitle/ description
Acc/12 Henry James papers 
 d07a169Reference letter for Heinz Jacobius [Henry James] signed by F. Heilborn and Col. Levey, August 1941 (copy). 
 d07a170Photocopied excerpt from Interrupted Journeys: Young Refugees from Hitler's Reich by Alan Gill. 
 d07a171Life Story: Henry Lippmann, memoir, 2004. 
 d07a172Photograph of Berlin ORT Boys reunion 17 November 2003 (JC?) 
 d07a173ORT Matters: Saved by ORT by Christine Stutz (Baltimore Jewish Times?) Fall 1998. 
 d07a174Berliner Morgenpost, 26 July 1989. 
Acc/16 Max Abraham papers. Max Abraham was a teacher at both Berlin and Leeds schools and maintained contact with many of the students until his death in 2008. Includes copies of Leeds school paper, press cuttings, correspondence and papers relating to ORT and old boys’ reunions, work book with technical diagrams, material received from students (incl. d10a019). 
Digital RefTitle/ description
d07a167 – d07a168Berlin ORT Old Boys’ contact lists, 1989, 1999. 
d07a160 – d07a163Correspondence re PR of the ORT Berlin-Leeds story and reunion, 1999 
d07a158 – d07a159 Cover letter and menu from ORT Berlin-Leeds Old Boys reunion held in May 2003. 
Reference Title/ description
PA49ORT Works Berlin School December 1938 album. Photos (taken in November 1938) by Lilli Szkolny. [CD32; CD50]. See d07a166 for commentary by a former student. 
PA43Photo album from the boys’ hostels in Leeds, 1941. 
PA57Scanned photo album belonging to former Berlin-Leeds student Ian Gessler received from his daughter, 1928-1977 [permission required]. Includes photos from Ian Gessler's time in Berlin, then the Leeds ORT schools, before and after WWII, some of which are included in the ORT Works Lilly Szkolnik 1938 album [PA49]. 
p00a034View of the ORT school in Leeds, which was transplanted from Berlin to England in 1939. 
p03a542 Portrait of Colonel Joseph Henry Levey, Active Chairman of the Joint British Committee ORT-OSE, who helped transfer the Berlin ORT school to Leeds in 1939. [CD87]. 
p01a101 – p01a104February 2001. Views of the former ORT building & a commemorative plaque, Berlin.