The Tann Family papers (0.3 linear feet and 3.9 MB) contain correspondence between Eugene Tann and the family of his uncle William "Bill" Tann of Detroit with their relatives living in the former Czechoslovakia and Hungary. The majority of the letters are dated from 1937-1947 and detail the experiences of European family members during World War II and the efforts of Eugene and William Tann to help them travel to the United States. The letters are written in Czech, Slovak and Hungarian and are accompanied by digital English translations created by Clara Garbon-Radnoti (Hungarian), and Zuzana Hodkova (Czech and Slovak).
The collection also includes biographical information about Eugene Tann and his immediate family.
The Tann Family papers have been divided into two series, the Biographical Information series contains a biographical statement about Eugene Tann written by his children, Lewis Tann and Dorothy Tann Collens and the Correspondence series that features both the original letters and the translations.
The Tann family is a Jewish family who had members living in Michigan, the former Czechoslovakia, and Hungary during World War II. In the 1930s, Miklòs Tennenbaum and his wife Gisella and their five children, Jeno (Eugene), Alzberta (Erzsi), Helena (Ilonka), Alador, and Vojtech lived in Czechoslovakia, in a number of towns south of the Carpathian Mountains. In 1938, Jeno Tennenbaum immigrated to the United States in search of improved economic opportunities and changed his named to Eugene Tann. His uncle, William "Bill" Tann, owner of the Congress Tool and Die Company in Detroit, helped him obtain a travel visa. Both Bill Tann and his son, Albert Tanner, were also known as "Bela" to their family and friends. Albert Tanner was instrumental in providing financial support to help family members escape Europe. Eugene joined his uncle's family in Detroit after arriving in the United States.
Eugene corresponded frequently with his father, Miklòs, about the political situation in Czechoslovakia following the annexation of the country by Germany in 1938. Miklòs requested help from Eugene and Bill to obtain visas to travel to the United States to escape the growing Nazi threat. However, this was difficult because obtaining a visa to the United States required extensive paperwork, navigating restrictive U.S. immigration policies, and putting down a substantial down payment of money. Eugene's letters with his father also discussed the family's health, the impact of new anti-Jewish laws and included notes from his sisters Erzsi and Ilonka and his brothers Alador and Vojtech with brief updates about their work and health.
Eugene and Albert Tanner also corresponded with Miklòs' sister Helena and her family in Hungary, who voiced their concerns about the deteriorating political situation for Jews such as being required to document how long they had lived in Hungary and dealing with increased restrictions on Jewish businesses and shops. Helena and her family also requested assistance to travel to the United States. Eugene, Albert, and Bill Tann's wife Malvina also received requests for help from other relatives in Central Europe including Malvina's brother Herman Stern in Hungary and relatives of Eugene Tann's mother in Czechoslovakia.
Unfortunately, their efforts to obtain travel visas for Eugene Tann's immediate family were not successful. They were deported together to Auschwitz Concentration Camp on April 18, 1942 from Zilina, Slovakia and records indicate the family perished at different times between May and September 1942. After the war, Eugene corresponded with friends and extended family who survived the war including relatives of his aunt Helena and Herman Stern. Their letters detail the atrocities they witnessed and their struggles with finding jobs and reclaiming lost property in post-war Europe.
