Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Michigan Jewish family with relatives in the former Czechoslovakia and Hungary who hoped to travel to the United States to escape Nazi persecution during World War II. The collection includes biographical information and correspondence between family members written in Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian, as well as digital copies of the English translations of the letters. Many of the letters discuss the political situation in Europe following the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia and their attempts to obtain visas to travel to the United States.

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.