Schmidt-Stehnike family papers, 1891-2024

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Summary

Creator:
Hammond, M. K.
Stehnike, Margarethe Schmidt, 1900-1933, contributor
Abstract:
The Schmidt-Stehnike family is a German family primarily comprising the children and descendants of Margarethe "Grete" Schmidt (1900-1933) and Arthur Stehnike (1898-1958). Collection consists primarily of correspondence between members of the Schmidt-Stehnike family; other materials such as postcards, death notices, a small number of photographs, and Margarethe Schmidt's autograph book; reference materials; and Marie Katz Hammond's edited and translated compilation of these materials entitled Schmidt-Stehnike Letters, 1890-1990 (2024). Topics in the collection include Arthur and Margarethe's life in Argentina; Margarethe's health, struggle with tuberculosis, and the sanatoriums in Germany where she received treatment; finances and Arthur's employment (or lack thereof); Arthur and Margarethe's children, particularly Elisabeth Karin Stehnike, who often appears as "Gaggi" in the collection; social and family matters; and life in 1930s Germany during Hitler's rise to power.
Extent:
0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are primarily in German. Some have been translated into English.
Collection ID:
RL.13187

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists primarily of correspondence between members of the Schmidt-Stehnike family; other materials such as postcards, death notices, a small number of photographs, and Margarethe Schmidt's autograph book; reference materials; and Marie Katz Hammond's edited and translated compilation of these materials entitled Schmidt-Stehnike Letters, 1890-1990 (2024). The bulk of the correspondence dates from the early 1930s, though in total the correspondence spans from 1891 to 1990. Letters discuss Arthur and Margarethe's life in Argentina; Margarethe's health, struggle with tuberculosis, and the sanatoriums in Germany where she received treatment; finances and Arthur's employment (or lack thereof); Arthur and Margarethe's children, particularly Elisabeth Karin Stehnike, who often appears as "Gaggi" in the letters; and social and family matters. To a lesser extent, the letters, postcards, Hans Schmidt's Ahnenpass, and "Memories of a Schoolgirl" document life in 1930s Germany during Hitler's rise to power. The rest of the collection material supplements the contents of the letters, further documenting the lives and genealogy of Schmidt and Stehnike family members, particularly Arthur Stehnike, Margarethe Schmidt, and their daughter Elisabeth Karin Stehnike Katz.

Biographical / historical:

The Schmidt-Stehnike family is a German family primarily comprising the children and descendants of Margarethe "Grete" Schmidt (1900-1933) and Arthur Stehnike (1898-1958). Arthur Stehnike was born in Schleswig, Germany, on July 4, 1898, and Margarethe Schmidt was born in Coburg, Germany, on January 19, 1900. Arthur and Margarethe met in Hamburg in the early 1920s, where Arthur was studying business and Margarethe was apprenticed to a portrait photographer. When the two married is not known, but their first daughter, Elisabeth "Gaggi" Karin Stehnike, was born on September 17, 1924, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Arthur and Margarethe had moved for Arthur's job. They had two more children after Elisabeth: Hans Jürgen and Rosemarie Charlotte. Margarethe suffered from tuberculosis and died on November 28, 1933, in Frankurt, Germany, and her three children went to live with other family members in Germany. Arthur Stehnike passed away in 1958 in Buenos Aires.

Arthur and Margarethere's first daughter, Elisabeth Karin Stehnike, grew up in Germany and later emigrated to the United States. She married Henry Katz on November 26, 1947, and together they had three children: William Henry, Marie Elisabeth, and Katherine Louise Katz. Elisabeth Stehnike Katz passed away in Durham, N.C., on October 19, 2011. Elisabeth and Henry's daughter, Marie Katz Hammond (b. 1950), compiled and translated this collection.

Acquisition information:
The Schmidt-Stehnike Family Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from Marie Katz Hammond in 2025.
Processing information:

Letters and postcards were grouped by donor, and these groups were preserved at processing. Approximate dates for undated items were taken from estimates provided in Schmidt-Stehnike Letters, 1890-1990. Description of the collection material is based upon English translations of the material in Schmidt-Stehnike Letters, 1890-1990.

Processed by Leah Tams, April 2026.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2025-0154.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

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Subjects:
Families -- Germany
Tuberculosis -- Patients
Children of tuberculosis patients
Sanatoriums -- Germany
Format:
personal correspondence
Names:
Hammond, M. K. -- Family
Stehnike, Arthur, 1898-1958
Stehnike, Margarethe Schmidt, 1900-1933
Katz, Elisabeth Stehnike, 1924-2011
Places:
Germany -- Social life and customs -- 20th century

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Schmidt-Stehnike Family Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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