Title: Harry Loeb Papers and Still Images
Inclusive Dates: 1940-1955

Creator:

• Loeb, Harry

Call Number: WVM Mss 1998

Quantity: 1.2 linear ft. (3 archives boxes) of papers and 0.8 linear ft. (2 archives boxes, 1 negative box, and negative flaps) of still images

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and still images related to the service of Harry Loeb, a Madison, Wisconsin, resident who served in General Hospital 181 in Karachi, India, during World War II. Papers consist mainly of correspondence, including letters, V-mail, and cards sent to Loeb by family and friends while he was in the military. Many of these letters exchange news from home, keeping Loeb informed of movements and changes in his friends and family. A few letters were written by Loeb to his friends and family, and focus on giving advice and passing along news of home rather than experiences in the war. Letters written from his fellow soldiers in India were sent to him after they were redeployed or returned home. They express a camaraderie between those who served together and alludes to very unpleasant conditions. A letter written in 1950 by the wife of a comrade describes the hard time her family was facing, the choice of her husband to go on active duty, and the hardship of being stationed in Korea. Other papers include papers from Loeb's career after his service, including Bar Exam certificates. Still images in this collection include black-and-white photographs and negatives. The majority of photographs are from India and depict the hospital, Loeb and his comrades, cities and villages, and temples. Other images include photographs from trips taken by Loeb to Palestine, Egypt and South Africa. There are also many photographs sent to Loeb by his family and friends during the war.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss01998

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Harry N. Loeb was born in Illinois on December 12, 1918. Sometime after 1930, Loeb's family moved from Illinois to Watertown, Wisconsin. He attended college at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, intending to go on and become a lawyer. On December 31, 1944, Loeb joined the military. He trained in Texas and stayed briefly in South Carolina before being shipped out to India, where he served as a medical services NCO. Loeb was stationed at General Hospital 181 in Karachi, India, and alludes to handing out medications and immunizations to people, but no more detail is given. Loeb was stationed in India until mid-1944. On his way home from India, Loeb was granted a leave to visit Palestine and visited many Jewish cultural heritage sites and family members. After returning to the United States, he briefly stayed in New York before going to Chicago to live with his family. Loeb returned to Madison, Wisconsin, getting his law degree, passing the Bar Exam and becoming a lawyer. He lived the rest of his life in Madison and died in 1997.

Family tree: Loeb's parents, Hyman and Sarah, were Russian-born Jews who had immigrated to the United States. They had several children, Maurice, William, Harry, Archie, Leonard and Rose. William often went by Bill and was married to Molly. Maurice, or Maury, was married to Dorothy. Rose, Leonard and Archie all lived at home, then Rose moved to Chicago for school, Archie joined the Army, then Sarah and Leonard moved to Chicago to live with Rose.

The collection of Harry N. Loeb is arranged into two series: Papers and Still Images.

Papers (1940-1959) Papers are comprised primarily of correspondence, but also include scattered papers pertaining to his post-war activities. The large group of correspondents provide a varied look at life on the home front during World War II and several different views of life in the military. The correspondence is separated into six groups: Siblings, extended family, Madison friends, War friends and comrades, Girls, and miscellaneous correspondents. Letters are arranged alphabetically by the sender. The list of correspondents by group is provided in the finding aid for further understanding and because they contain similar information.

Siblings include: Rose, Leonard, Archie, Maury and Dorothy, and William (Bill) and Molly.

Extended family include: Herman, Marjorie, Beverly, Bertha, and Miriam.

Madison friends include: Bel and Max, Leo and Fran, Oscar, Dinny, Harp and Reppie, Bernie and Helen, Helen's parents Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Gordon and Mary, and Jerry and Lil.

Girls include: Ruth, Sydna and Fern Alvis, Delphine, Clarice, Gladys, Roz, Sandra, Louise and Bernice.

War friends and comrades include: Alex, Walt, Phyllis, Jim and Lula, J.B. Murdoch, and Don.

Correspondence from siblings and friends from Madison exchange information on jobs, moving, pregnancies, and military status of other members of his family.

While at war, Loeb was in contact with many girls back in the United States. Letters from Clarice, a friend from Madison who later moved to Missouri discuss the difficulty she has finding someone to love because all of the men her age are, like Loeb, away at war. Later, she abruptly writes him that she has married another serviceman in a quick ceremony before he left for training. Letters from Delphine, a Chicago resident, begin when his sister Rose gives Delphine Loeb's address. Delphine writes flirtatious letters, spraying the letters with perfume and kissing them, leaving lipstick kisses on the paper. Ruth, in New York, begins writing Harry flirtatious letters, which culminate when he returns to the United States, demanding to know if he would marry her when they met at last. Letters from Sydna Alvis cease suddenly with a letter from her sister, Fern, explaining that Sydna, a friend he had met in Texas, had died of a blood infection; Fern continues to write Loeb for the duration of the war, exchanging pleasantries and news. Bernice, a friend of Rose's, writes Harry friendly letters, providing news of his family and the Jewish community where she lives.

At General Hospital 181, Loeb made several friends with fellow soldiers stationed at the hospital. When his friends were sent elsewhere, they often wrote letters back to the hospital, reminiscing about good and bad times there, expressing a desire to see the group of friends again. After Loeb returned to the United States, his friends wrote him, wishing him well at home. He also wrote the wives and families of his friends, providing details and opinions about life in India for their husbands and sons. These letters were returned gratefully, and the families often expressed gratitude at having a true picture of life in India and up-to-date news of their soldier. Of interest is a letter written by Jim's wife, Lula, in 1950. In the letter, Lula explains the difficulties Jim had faced in getting a job as a veteran and the hardships her family had been facing. She explains that Jim decided to re-join the military and was sent to Korea, to the dismay of himself and his family.

Other letters are from scattered acquaintances and friends across the United States with similar well-wishes for Loeb and other soldiers. Miscellaneous correspondence includes letters from correspondents whose correspondence only contains one letter, making it hard to determine their relationship to Loeb. Other papers include a certificate for passing the Bar Exam, a deed of title for land, and other scattered papers from Loeb's later life.

Still images (1940-1959) include both black and white photographs and negatives. Still images are separated into India, Military, Recreation, Travel and Wisconsin. Images from India include animals, civilians, and landscapes. Of interest in these photographs are images of Indians in and around the Ganges as well as several images of temples and ruined temples, as well as villages and civilians. Military images show a camp, the hospital and construction at the hospital. Recreational images include images of Loeb and his friends in the hospital and around India, including fishing trip. Of interest is a series of photographs featuring Santa Claus on a camel A series of unexplained photographs show a woman putting makeup and finishing touches on the costumes of servicemen, including one in a dress and a wig.

Other images in the collection include a small group of photographs from Madison, before Loeb joined the military. In the photographs, there are many University of Wisconsin Madison campus visible. Photographs of family and friends appear to span from before to well after the war, including photographs sent to Loeb by his brother and sister. They are mostly unidentified, but a few photographs identify Loeb's sister Rose, and William and Molly's daughter Cynthia. Others feature adults and children posing for portraits at various home and locations. An unidentified photograph of four men is possibly Loeb with three of his brothers or his four brothers. Miscellaneous photographs include a portrait of a young woman in a chair outside, portraits of unidentified people, a religious ceremony, and a few photographs of Loeb at unknown locations.

Before returning home, Loeb traveled to Europe through the Middle East, stopping to visit family and Jewish cultural heritage sites in Palestine, when he most likely also visited Egypt. A single identifiable photograph from Palestine features the Wailing Wall, while the photograph from Egypt features the Sphinx. Places featured include Cape Town, South Africa, which Loeb visited with many other service members.

Most of the negatives have corresponding prints, but there are many that do not. Those that do not have exact or similar prints include several images of a fishing trip, where Loeb and others caught large fish and a stingray. A single roll of film contains photographs of Madison, the University of Wisconsin campus, friends and family.

Acquisition Information

Presented by James P. Hoffman , 2009. Accession Number: Mss2009.018.

Processing Information

Processed by Brittany Strobel in 2014.

	Series: Papers
	Subseries: Correspondence
	From siblings
Box   1 Folder   2	Archie, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   13-14	Leonard, undated-1944
Box   2 Folder   17	Maury and Dorothy, 1943-1944
Box   3 Folder   3-5	Rose, 1943-1945
Box   3 Folder   22	William and Molly, 1942-1945
	From extended family
Box   1 Folder   7	Bertha, 1944
Box   1 Folder   8	Beverly, 1943-1944
Box   2 Folder   5	Herman, 1942-1944
Box   2 Folder   16	Marjorie, 1943-1944
Box   2 Folder   18	Miriam Karol, 1942-1944
	From Madison friends
Box   1 Folder   3	Bel and Max, 1944
Box   1 Folder   5-6	Bernie and Helen, undated-1945
Box   1 Folder   14	Dinny, 1942-1944
Box   2 Folder   2	Gordon and Mary, 1943-1944
Box   2 Folder   4	Harp and Reppie, 1943-1944
Box   2 Folder   8	Jerry and Lil, 1941-1943
Box   2 Folder   10	Leo and Fran, 1943-1944
Box   2 Folder   21	Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Anderson, undated-1944
Box   3 Folder   1	Oscar, 1843
	From girlfriends
Box   1 Folder   4	Bernice (Chota Peg) Adolph, 1944-1945
Box   1 Folder   9-11	Clarice, 1941-1944
Box   1 Folder   13	Delphine, 1944
Box   2 Folder   1	Gladys, 1943-1994
Box   2 Folder   15	Louise, 1944
Box   3 Folder   6	Roz, 1942
Box   3 Folder   7	Ruth, 1944-1945
Box   3 Folder   8	Sandra, 1941-1942
Box   3 Folder   10	Sydna and Fern Alvis, 1942-1945
	From war friends
Box   1 Folder   1	Alex, 1944
Box   1 Folder   12	Comrades, 1944-1945
Box   1 Folder   15	Don, 1945-1947
Box   2 Folder   7	J.B. Murdoch, 1944
Box   2 Folder   9	Jim and Lula, 1944-1950
Box   2 Folder   11	Letters from families of friends, 1944
Box   3 Folder   2	Phyllis, 1942-1944
Box   3 Folder   20	Walt, 1946
Box   3 Folder   21	William Rolland, 1943
	Other correspondence
Box   2 Folder   3	Harold, 1943-1944
Box   2 Folder   6	Holiday cards
Box   2 Folder   12	Letters from Harry, undated
Box   2 Folder   19	Military, undated
Box   2 Folder   20	Miscellaneous, 1941-1945
Box   3 Folder   9	School materials, 1940-1981
Box   3 Folder   11	Student loans, undated
Box   3 Folder   12	V-mail to others, undated
Box   3 Folder   13-19	V-mail to Harry, 1941-1945
Ov   32 Folder   18	Certificates, undated
	Series: Still images	⇧
	Subseries: India
Box   6 Folder   1-2	Animals, undated
	Civilians
Box   6 Folder   3	Beggar woman, undated
Box   6 Folder   4-5	Crowd, undated
Box   4 Folder   15	Ganges, undated [4]
Box   6 Folder   6	Giving candy in the village, undated
Box   4 Folder   25-28	Landscapes, 1941-1944 [48]
Box   6 Folder   55	Beach, undated
Box   4 Folder   4-7	Cities and villages, 1941-1944 [58]
Box   4 Folder   22-24	Indian temples, 1942-1944 [42]
Box   6 Folder   56-64	Negatives, undated
	Subseries: Military	⇧
Box   4 Folder   1	Camp, undated [4]
Box   6 Folder   35-40	Hospital, undated
Box   4 Folder   16	Construction, undated [15]
Box   6 Folder   41-43	Negatives, undated
Box   4 Folder   17-20	Exterior, 1941-1944, [63]
Box   6 Folder   44-47	Negatives, undated
Box   4 Folder   21	Interior, 1941-1944 [17]
Box   6 Folder   48-52	Negatives, undated
Box   6 Folder   53	Living quarters, undated
Box   6 Folder   54	Nurses, undated
	Recreation
Box   5 Folder   1-4	Loeb and friends, 1941-1944 [57]
Box   6 Folder   65-72	Negatives, undated
Box   6 Folder   73-79	Fishing, undated
Box   6 Folder   80	Jim, undated
Box   5 Folder   8	Makeovers, undated [9]
Box   5 Folder   10	Santa, undated [6]
Box   6 Folder   81-84	Negatives, undated
Box   6 Folder   85-104	Unidentified soldiers
	Travel
Box   4 Folder   2	Cape Town, undated [13]
Box   4 Folder   3	Charleston, undated [1]
Box   4 Folder   8	Egypt, 1944, [1]
Box   5 Folder   13	The Wailing Wall, 1944 [1]
	Wisconsin
Box   4 Folder   9-13	Family and friends, undated [59]
Box   6 Folder   7-34	Negatives, undated
PhN   6 Folder   53-57	Negative roll, undated [30]
Box   4 Folder   14	Four men, undated [1]
Box   5 Folder   7	Maurice Loeb, 1942 [1]
Box   5 Folder   11	Sent by Rose and Leonard, undated [8]
Box   5 Folder   5-6	Madison, 1940-1941 [18]
Box   5 Folder   9	Miscellaneous, undated [6]
Box   5 Folder   12	Trains, undated [4]