U.S. Private David (“Doov”) Stein World War II Letters from Antwerp. Collection

Kazerne Dossin Research Centre This collection contains letters written by Private David “Doov” Stein during his first months of service in the US Army in Antwerp, from November 10 to December 31, 1944. There are also letters written by Private David “Doov” Stein during 5 ½ of his 7 months of service in the US Army in Antwerp from January 1 to June 10, 1945, and a similar number of letters from individuals and organizations to him, concerning his relief activities on behalf of the Jewish community of Antwerp following the Nazi occupation. This collection also consists of Stein’s notepad containing names, addresses and some details of his Antwerp friends and their relatives in the United States, a worn Belgian yellow star given to Stein by the sister of Mr. Max (Miksa) Klein, burnt remnants of a Torah scroll from the Shomre Hadas Synagogue on Van den Nestlei which Stein picked up while the building was still cordoned off and a recorded interview and transcript of David Stein conducted by Sidney Storch in December 1973. Contact Kazerne Dossin Research Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu Contact Kazerne Dossin Research Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu. Or if applicable, send your licensing request to the Museum of Jewish Heritage: collections@mjhnyc.org David (“Doov”) Stein was an American Allied GI, drafted July 1943, who was for seven months stationed in Antwerp following the liberation of the city in 1944. Private Stein was especially active in reuniting families in the United States with their surviving relatives in Antwerp, who had no contact during the Nazi occupation and beyond, obtaining relief for the Jews in Antwerp, and working with the youth. The letters he sent are of utmost importance for the historical narrative and documentation of Orthodox Jewish life in Antwerp in 1944-1945. Prior and after the Second World War, David “Doov” Stein worked as a printer. David “Doov” Stein passed away on January 8, 1989. His wife, Ahda (née Plotkin) Stein, passed away on July 30, 2010.