American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Archive associated with Frederic H. Harf, a Jewish Luxembourg native whose family property was seized in the Nazi takeover of Luxembourg, and who went on to serve in the US Army through the end of World War II. Includes 40+ photographs and snapshots of Harf and his family members, souvenirs from Luxembourg and Harf's Army service, and extensive documentation spanning 1940-1991 regarding the liquidation of Harf family assets by the Nazi regime.  

Photographs include: Studio portrait presumably featuring Frederic's parents, Adolph and Emma Harf. Luxembourg: Aloyse Anen Fils, n.d. 5 1/8 x 3 5/8 in. silver gelatin print on cardstock mount (some silvering to edges of image; mount with light soiling and wear to edges/corners). Mount with photographer's embossed imprint. -- Studio portrait of Frederic with a young lady. New York: Max Baer, n.d. 5 x 7 in. silver gelatin print (clear tape to verso). Baer stamp to verso. -- Studio portrait of Frederic in his US Army uniform. Wiesbaden, Germany: J. L. Rimbach, n.d. 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. silver gelatin print (silvering to edges, toning). Rimbach's stamp to verso. -- View of a US Army rabbi conducting a service in a synagogue. Luxembourg: Tony Krier, n.d. 5 x 7 in. silver gelatin print (creasing, some surface loss, wear to edges and corners). Krier's stamp to verso. Penciled caption to recto margin. -- Studio portrait of a young lady, a friend of Frederic. New York: Goldsmith, n.d. 3 3/8 x 4 in. silver gelatin print. Goldsmith's studio stamp on verso along with inked inscription to Frederic. -- And over 40 mostly Velox snapshots featuring Frederic, likely taken himself using a camera with timing capability, featuring him in various states of undress. 

Documents (nearly all in German) include: A typed inventory of the shoe store owned by Adolf and Emma Harf, with C.D.Z. Liquidation ink stamp to first and last pages. 1940. (3 pages on white paper, 11 pages on peach paper) -- Typed document signed by liquidator Erich Pies, instructing the Harfs to cease all sales at their shoe store and turn over all bank details and staff information to his firm. 22 May 1941. Mr. Pies' office address includes the street name "Adolf-Hitler-Strasse." -- Typed bank statement sent to Adolf Harf, confirming that his account has been closed and his funds has been put in an emigrant blocked account. 19 July 1941. -- And 30+ others, most likely regarding the Harf's assets in Luxembourg. -- Together, approx. 40 documents probably related to the Harf family's seized assets, though this cannot be confirmed as they are mostly in German.

Frederic H. Harf arrived with his parents and sister in New York City in 1941, following their escape from Luxembourg, this Jewish scholar quickly became part of the US Army. Initially assigned to a medical training battalion  in Illinois, Private Harf's extraordinary fluency in five languages soon earned him a promotion to T-Sergeant and placed him throughout the conflict at Headquarters units centered in several theaters of war. His innovative interrogation skills were recognized by the various commands as first rate and second to none. 

Stationed at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) at the time of the Normandy invasion, T-Sergeant Harf was ordered to question many Nazi officers captured in the course of the assault. When his services were anticipated and required during the Battle of the Bulge, he was transferred to the 9th Armored Division Headquarters, where he interrogated scores of beaten and war-weary Volksgrenadier soldiers. This also gave him the opportunity to return to Luxembourg, though it was now a shattered and devastated land. 

T-Sergeant Harf's final duties were as a member of the 86th "Black Hawk" Division as it swept through Germany and Central Europe during the last weeks and days of World War II. Later involved with processing Nazi POWs of higher ranks, he encountered and interviewed General Ernst Von Leyser and secured from him, possibly as a gift, his calling card and German Cross. Discharged from the service in 1946, Harf continued working for the US Army but in a civilian capacity, concluding in his acting as a German interpreter during the Nuremberg trials.