I will write at another time with details of the connections of the Mindens and Warburgs before, during, and after the Second World War -- but at this moment want to point out an article in last week's
New Yorker magazine on the Warburg Library. The photo here, of Aby Warburg (second from left) with others in Florence, is one that accompanies the article; photo credit goes to the Warburg Institute. Link to the article:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/03/16/in-the-memory-ward
Wow, what a lot of research you've done!! What was the connection of the Mindens with the Warburgs (just a brief sentence or two...)
ReplyDeleteWow, what a lot of research you've done!! What was the connection of the Mindens with the Warburgs (just a brief sentence or two...)
ReplyDeleteErnest Minden was a banker for Warburgs and during one stretch of time was one of the people who set the prices of metals -- such as gold -- in their offices. Ernest's cousin Henri in New York assisted Erich Warburg in carrying the bank's business to the States before and during the war. More to follow.
ReplyDeleteCan I join in even though I am not a Minden? I have just found a cache of letters that my grandparents Henryk and Irene Goldmann wrote to my mother during the war. Ernest and Lena Minden feature quite frequently. My mother says they were friends and she thought he was a banker. Warburgs was an investor in the company my grandfather worked for before leaving Germany in 1938. I am just busy following leads.
ReplyDeleteHarriet Hall
Harriet, wonderful to hear from you! Ernest was indeed a banker; Lena eventually became a teacher for Down sydrome children. Let us know if there are any details we can add to what you're "following." Where do you live? And would you be willing to share the letters at some point? I find the easiest way is actually to use a smartphone to photograph them. So pleased to hear from you!
DeleteHello Beth
DeleteI am so glad this way of communicating worked! I live in London. I see from my searching through your blogs that Ernest Minden came to England from Hamburg so I am guessing that is how he and Lena met my grandparents who came to Hornchurch in Essex in 1938. My grandfather died in 1945 before I was born.
The letters, I am afraid, mainly detail what an unhappy marriage it had become. I mean the Mindens'. But I could photo extracts if you are interested. I suppose I should ask my mother but she is so excited by this adventure into her past, I am sure she would not mind. She is 93 and came to England aged 16.
How would I attach a photo to this blog?
Best wishes
Harriet
Hello Harriet, I'm not surprised that the marriage was unhappy -- I was told that it cracked at the point when Lena suffered the loss of stillborn twins, but Ernest was also quite a womanizer (I don't know exactly when that pattern began), and my father and his brother grew up in quite a bit of chaos, I think. Please give your mother my warm greetings. And I can set you up as an "author" on the blog, which will let you post photos, but I do need your e-mail for that; feel free to send me an e-mail at BethPoet at gmail dot com and we'll connect! Best wishes, Beth
ReplyDelete