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Gertrud Clara Reyersbach, M.D. papers

Notifications

Held at: Drexel University: College of Medicine Legacy Center [Contact Us]2900 West Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Drexel University: College of Medicine Legacy Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
001
Repository:
Drexel University: College of Medicine Legacy Center
Extent:
1.9 linear feet (3 doc boxes, 1 half doc box, 1 oversize flat box)
Language:
German, English, and Hebrew
Date:
1817-2004 (inclusive) and 1933-1991 (bulk)
Creator:
Reyersbach, Gertrud Clara
Abstract:

Gertrud "Gedda" Clara Reyersbach, M.D., (1907-1999) grew up in an affluent Jewish family in Oldenburg, Germany. Dr. Reyersbach was a pediatrician specializing in endocrinology and rheumatic diseases. She received her doctorate from the University of Göttingen, Germany, in 1935; that same year, Nazi racial policy effectively defined Jews not by their religion but by ancestral lineage. As a result of these anti-Semitic laws, the Nazis began revoking German citizenship and forbade Jewish doctors from treating non-Jewish patients. Between 1935 and 1937, Dr. Reyersbach worked at the Pharmacological Institute of Göttingen and the Hospital of the Jewish Community in Frankfurt, Germany.

In September of 1936, her uncle Franz Reyersbach (1880-1936) was imprisoned by the Schutzstaffel (the SS) and beaten to death on December 14, 1936, at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Dr. Reyersbach had a close relationship with her uncle, and following the news of his death, she began her escape to the United States. She would not return to Germany until 1985 when Oldenburg city officials organized a reconciliatory event between the city and expelled Jewish citizens. On May 10, 1985, Dr. Reyersbach attended the unveiling of Franz-Reyersbach-Straße, honoring her uncle, the first German Jew from Oldenburg killed by the Nazis.

Dr. Reyersbach arrived in New York on June 1, 1937, but her journey was far from over. It took three years to be recertified as a pediatrician while attaining United States citizenship and persuading immigration officials that she was not a threat to the nation. In 1942, Dr. Reyersbach began her tenure teaching at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, becoming one of the hospital's first female residents. She thrived as a well-respected pediatrician in Boston, retiring at 80.

The collection documents Dr. Reyersbach's life in Germany, the Reyerbach family history, a return visit to her home country in 1985, and her life and practice in the United States, from 1867-1991, with the bulk of the dates between 1933-1991. Materials include several photo albums, 1927-1936, capturing Reyersbach with family and friends in Germany and her initial medical training there; German school papers (such as report cards) and certificates; Reyersbach's passport (issued in 1935); US and German certificates; US diplomas; medical papers published by Reyersbach; dissertation by Reyersbach; notes about the history of the Reyersbach family; maps and books about Oldenburg; notes and pictures from former patients; and videos of Reyersbach's trip to Germany and a farewell message from former patients

The Gertrud Clara Reyersbach, M.D. papers are arranged in five series, the content of each series has been arranged chronologically.

The series arrangement of the records is as follows:

Series I:Credentials and Certifications, 1907-1968 Arranged chronologically

Series II:Publications, 1939-2004 Arranged chronologically

Series III:Reyersbach Family History, 1817-1992 Arranged chronologically

Series IV:Photographs, 1913-1992 Arranged chronologically

Series V:Patient Appreciation, 1943-1999 Arranged chronologically

This collection was donated in 2005 by Prudence L. Steiner, close friend of Gertrud Clara Reyersbach, M.D.

People
Subject
Place
Occupation

Publisher
Drexel University: College of Medicine Legacy Center
Finding Aid Author
Theana Noelle Kastens
Finding Aid Date
2022 September
Access Restrictions

Note about restricted material: Users will note that a number of folders in the Collection Inventory indicated restrictions due to HIPAA or other privacy concerns. We strongly encourage users to contact Legacy Center staff to discuss access to these materials, as we have used "restricted" to indicate that at least one item in the folder is restricted, but it is likely that other material in the folder may be freely accessible. It is also possible that users will be able to access to restricted material after working with us and gaining institutional review board (IRB) approval, or through a process of staff redaction of private information.

Collection Inventory

German and American Identification, 1907-1937.
Box 1 Folder 1
German Education Records, 1924-1937.
Box 1 Folder 2
Dissertation, 1935.
Box 1 Folder 3
U.S. Medical Certifications, 1936-1987.
Box 1 Folder 4
U.S. and Germany Medical Diplomas, 1936-1945.
Box 5 Box red cylindrical container
Massachusetts General Hospital, 1942-1945.
Box 1 Folder 5
Board of Registration in Medicine, Massachusetts, 1945.
Box 5 Folder 1
Medical and Surgical license, New York, 1945.
Box 5 Folder 2
Teaching Accolades, 1947-1991.
Box 1 Folder 6
Harvard University Honorary Award, 1968.
Box 1 Folder 7

Reprints, 1939-1956.
Box 1 Folder 8
Reprints continued, 1957-1982.
Box 1 Folder 9
Saturday Evening Post, 1959.
Box 5 Folder 3
Oldenburg Map, 1984.
Box 1 Folder 10
Recollections of Gertrud C Reyersbach, 2004.
Box 1 Folder 11
Aufsätze zur Geschichte der Medizin im Herzogtum Oldenburg, 1921.
Box 1
Das ist Oldenburg in Bildern und Geschichten, 1985.
Box 1
Das alte Oldenburg in 13 Ansichten, ausegewählt aus dem Buch "Am Staugraben" von Helene Brauer, mit 13 Fotografien der heutigen Zustände von Klaus Dede, 1986.
Box 1
Die Geschichte des Peter Friedrich Ludwigs Hospital, 1984.
Box 1
Hundert Jahre Cäcilienschule Oldenburg 1867-1967, 1967.
Box 1
VHA, Mitteilungsblatt für alle freunde und mitglieder der volkshochschule, Volkshochschulheim Edewecht, 1985.
Box 1

Genealogy , 1817-1985.
Box 2 Folder 1
Return to Oldenburg, May 1985 (Reyersbach), 1985.
Box 2 Folder 2
Return to Oldenburg, May 1985 (General), 1984-1985.
Box 2 Folder 3
Oldenburg Correspondence , 1976-1986.
Box 2 Folder 4
Society of Christian-Jewish Cooperation Correspondence, 1985-1992.
Box 2 Folder 5
Wiedersehen mit der Heimat: Dokumentation über den besuch der früheren Jüdischen bürger der stadt Oldenburg 8. bis 15. Mai 1985, 1985.
Box 2
Die Biographie des Oldenberger Kaufmanns Franz Reyersbach (1880-1936) als exemplarisches Schicksal säkularisierter deutcher Juden unter nationalsozialistischer Herrschaft, , 1985.
Box 2
"Coming Back to Oldenburg" CBS Evening News, KPIX-TV San Francisco, VHS , 1985.
Box 2
GCR in Germany, 1985, photographs, 1984-1985.
Box 2

Family photo album , 1913-1929.
Box 3 Folder 1
Family and Friends photo album, 1927-1929.
Box 3 Folder 2
Family photo album, 1929.
Box 3 Folder 3
Family and Friends photo album, 1929-1935.
Box 3 Folder 4
Immediate family and friends, 1929-1945.
Box 3 Folder 5
Photo album of Germany and medical training, 1935-1936.
Box 3 Folder 6
Medical photographs and professional events, 1940-1972.
Box 5 Folder 4
Graduation and Wedding of close friends, 1992.
Box 5 Folder 5

Correspondence, 1943-1989.
Box 4 Folder 1
Correspondence, Birthdays and Seasons Greetings, 1999.
Box 4 Folder 2
Letters and photographs from retirement party album , 1990-1991.
Box 4 Folder 3
Retirement party album, 1990-1991.
Box 5
VHS Tape, Reyersbach Retirement, 1991.
Box 5

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