This purpose of this article is to determine the archival value of a passport that belonged to Walter J. Heumann during the 1950s and 1960s. The process of appraisal is heavily dependent on context and the ability of the archivist to discern what documents should be included or excluded fro the archive.

Currently, this passport is held by the author, Heumann's grand niece. The author is considering whether to submit the passport to a local, national or international archive. This article is an exercise in anticipating the decision making process and outcomes of archivists in potential repositories of the passport.

The article comprises three sections. First, a synopsis of Heumann's long life. Woven into the narrative are contextual events that have been recorded in a variety of ways. The path of this passport's owner is delineated, establishing potential archival bonds with selected local archive records, explaining the complex context in which this document was acquired and indicating voids in the historical record that hold particular significance with regard to international, religious and cultural history. The paper concludes with an admonition against disregarding this historical record, which is manifested in this passport, and continued recollection of the family's trajectory over the past century. Such recollection reinforces the values that the author holds dear, for application by current family members and future generations in myriad unpredictable contexts. The family thinks of this document as a symbol of its identity, particularly with the characteristics of the will to survive, the importance of hard work and unwavering perseverance.

Walter J. Heumann (1-18-1914 -- tk-tk-2012)

Heumann was the eldest of two children born to Hermine and Max Heumann of Stuttgart, Germany. A self-described ladies' man, described his childhood and teenage years as happy, rich with culture, education and a bit of devilishness. In tktk, Heumann was employed as a tktktk, when Hilter ascended to power. Heumann's sister, Lise, had married Richard Hirschfelder, a man from a tiny town south of Stuttgart called Horb. Lise and Richard are the author's grandparents. The couple lived in Stuttgart, where Hirschfelder started a prosperous flour factory.

In tktk of tktk, Hirschfelder went to his factory to begin the workday. On the side of the building was painted a giant swastika. He had reported to family members that he knew immediately that the Nazis had assumed control of the factory and that he and his family had to leave Germany immediately. There is a complex and interesting story about how the Hirschfelder couple escaped capture, were transported by gentile friends in a risky ruse, and settled in Chicago, Illinois, sponsored by distant cousins. Several members of the family died in Nazi concentration camps. Hermina, Max and Walter could not get immediate sponsorship by relatives in the United States, so they emigrated to England shortly after Lisa and Richard left for the United States. Detailed passenger records from transatlantic ships indicate that the Hirschfelders arrived in Chicago on tktk and the Heumanns in London on tktk. This account was documented by Lise Hirschfelder in a letter dated tktk, which was copied and disseminated to her two daughters and six grandchildren. The original document is kept in tktk. Lise still communicates with descendants of the family that helped Richard and her escape from Germany. They used to correspond by written letters, but now enjoy sending emails.

In London, Walter worked as a tktk and became engaged to Freida tktk in tktk. In tktk,  legislation was passed in England that sent immigrants to internment camps in Australia--the tktktklaw. Hermina and and Max were sponsored by the same cousins who sponsored their daughter and her husband. They sailed to the United States and settled in Toms River, where they former Stuttgart socialites suddenly owned and operated an egg farm. Photographs of the two candling eggs are kept by their daughters, who remember visiting the farm  As an interesting aside, the Heumanns sold their farm to the State of New Jersey to accommodate the path of the New Jersey turnpike. The farm was located at mile tktk of the turnpike, and has been traveled by many of the couple's descendants.

Walter, meanwhile, travelled (involuntarily) to Australia by ship on tktk and was interred at tktk for tktk years. In a video he recorded for family in tktk, Walter describes this time as tktk. He states that he and Erna exchanged letters, but the mail was unreliable and very few records of the correspondence survived. In tktk, the British government dismantled the Australian internment camps, and Walter returned to Britain. He and Freida were married and moved to tktk, where Walter built a dress-making factory.

In tktk, Richard opened a leather factory, Rico, in Chicago. After several years, he and Lise purchased a vacation condo in Palm Springs, California. Richard told family that Palm Springs was a place where he was very happy. Because his sister spent significant time in Palm Springs, Walter relocated there after the death of his wife in tktk. He travelled extensively over the years, as indicated in this passport.

In Palm Springs, Walter met Erna Karlsberg, with whom he spent the next tktk years. In tktk, Walter and Erna moved to Los Angeles, where much of his extended family had migrated. Erna died of cancer in tktk. Walter was tktk(age). After much persuasion, the author and her family convinced him to move to tktktk in Westwood. He could have afforded a nicer retirement home, but was extremely frugal, like the majority of the family members who lost everything during the Holocaust.

Walter became an ornery old man. He loved to debate, particularly about the financial markets. A detailed recordkeeper, Walter kept ledgers of his financial transactions for more than 70 years. The stereotype of Jews as money-mongerers was bolstered by the trauma of the Holocaust, much like people who lived through the Depression (the other side of the author's family). The value of money for its power to afford freedom from persecution is a concept frequently cited by first-generation American Jews, who grew up in households that saved money and spent carefully.

Walter died at the age of 97 in tktk. His funeral and burial at tktk on tktk is documented by programs created by his niece, Barbara (author's mother). Attendees of the funeral signed a guest book. They included family members who lived in California, Illinois, tktktk and Tktk. Erna's son, tktk, also attended.

The eulogy was filmed by the author and posted to a password-protected website so Lise, who at 96 was unable to travel, could witness the speeches given about her deceased brother. The posting of this video caused turmoil among family members who felt it was inappropriate to post on the Internet. This is documented by nasty emails, which prompted the removal of the video from the Web. This is noted to indicate the mistrust that some have for privacy and security of personal information in the context of emergent technology.

Walter's small estate was willed to his sister's two daughters and his wife's niece, tktk in London. The transfer of funds to tktk are documented by bank transfer records. This passport, which Walter acquired after getting British citizenship following his interment in Australia, landed in the hands of the author, who hopes to ensure the story of her grand-uncle is preserved as a cautionary tale about genocide, internment, the vulnerability of one's lifestyle and a hard-working Jewish culture determined to survive and thrive under the worst of circumstances.

The narrative associated with this passport demonstrates the remarkable family, national and international history of an extended family in the context of national policy during World War II. It also continues to inform the values that the family instills in each generation. The value of this document is hard to determine. There is reason for preservation of the document as a symbol of a family history and injustices that are important to the global community. However, there are many documents in archives and museums preserved to give voice to the victims of the Holocaust. An archivist may not appreciate the narrative surrounding this document, and may choose to exclude it from the archive. However, whether this passport is accessioned into an archive and its narrative made available to the public or not, the family will continue to relate the narrative to future generations as an key element of its value system and identity.

Can trust the passport and chain of custody

Linked to family tree, videos, program and video from funeral, boat passenger lists, internment camp records, concentration camp records, Omi's letter, letters bt Omi and the Germans who got them out, Rothschild sponsorship documents, Rico products, frieda and erna, $$ in will, major recordkeeper--ledgers for 70 years.