Henry Loewenthal papers
Scope and Contents
Henry Loewenthal served in the U.S. Army with the 645th Battalion, 45th Division, II Army Corps, 7th Army, in the North African, Mediterranean, and European (ETO) Theaters. This collection consists of a 77-page manuscript written in 1995 entitled "World War II - A Soldier Remembers" by Loewenthal on his experiences during the war. The memoir begins with his memories as a Jewish American Serviceman at the beginning of the war in Europe and continues through V-J Day.
Dates
- Created: 1944-1945
- Other: Majority of material found in 1945
- Other: Date acquired: 02/21/2000
Creator
- Loewenthal, Henry (Family)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to all researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Biographical or Historical Information
Henry Loewenthal discusses in his memoir life on the Home Front before being drafted. Though born in Brooklyn on June 15, 1917, Loewenthal was living in the South (Danville, Virginia) in 1939. After being drafted, he describes his experiences and training at Southern bases before being shipped overseas. From England, Loewenthal traveled to North Africa, where he saw action at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, and he followed his unit to Italy, southern France, and Paris. Loewenthal provides descriptions of the local environment and his experiences with the natives. He also describes his combat experiences as a gunner on an M8 armored car performing reconnaissance missions for the 645th Battalion, 45th Division, II Army Corps, 7th Army. After completing his point requirements, Loewenthal was shipped home in early 1945 only later to return to his battalion after they had crossed the Rhine. Loewenthal returned in time to visit Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden and enjoyed the spoils of a cache of liquor secured from Hermann Goering's cellar. Though Loewenthal is Jewish, he only briefly discusses the anti-Semitism that he occasionally encountered in the US Army, and the comments he heard from a French woman whom he was dating, but it is not mentioned in his experiences in Germany. After V-E Day, he was shipped home and was in New York City when he heard about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. Loewenthal passed away in Wilmington, NC on October 18, 2012.
Extent
1.00 folders
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement Note
creator
Source of Acquisition
Henry Loewenthal
Method of Acquisition
donation
- Antisemitism Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Hiroshima-shi (Japan)--History--Bombardment, 1945 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Jewish soldiers--United States Subject Source: Local sources
- Kasserine Pass, Battle of, Tunisia, 1943 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Kehlsteinhaus (Germany) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Rhine River Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army
- United States. Army Ground Forces Subject Source: Lcnaf
- United States. Army--History Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army--Military life Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army. Army, 7th
- United States. Army. Corps, 2nd Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army. European Theater of Operations
- United States. Army. Infantry Division, 45th Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Austria Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Africa, North Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Italy Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Western Front Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--France--Paris Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Henry Loewenthal papers
- Author
- Craig Whittington
- Date
- 02/09/2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- eng
Repository Details
Part of the FSU Special Collections & Archives Repository
116 Honors Way
PO Box 3062047
Tallahassee FL 32306-2047 US
850-644-3271
lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu
