FLVC logo

Henry Loewenthal papers, 1944-1945, Date acquired: 02/21/2000, bulk 1945

 

Summary

Creator:
Loewenthal, Henry
Extent:
1.00 folders
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Henry Loewenthal papers, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_00_0122.

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:

Henry Loewenthal

donation

Arrangement:

creator

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open to all researchers.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Henry Loewenthal papers, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_00_0122.

Location of this collection:
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee
FL
32306-2047
USA