Pintus family papers

Before World War II, Lise and Erich Pintus lived with their two children, twins Lore and Hans, in Berlin, Germany. The family was close friends with the Goldsmiths, whose son Walter was best friends with Hans. To escape German antisemitism and ensure their safety, Erich Pintus moved his family to Amsterdam in 1937 or 1938. Ilse Goldsmith, Walter's sister, joined them in 1939. Other members of the Goldsmith family, including Walter, his mother, Florence, and her siblings, went to England and eventually settled in the United States.

In 1941, the young Jewish men of Amsterdam, Hans included, were rounded up and deported to Mauthausen concentration camp. Walter's sister, who was a teacher of deaf children, was transported with the children to Westerbork. In 1942, Erich, Lise, and Lore Pintus all went into hiding. They were discovered in 1944, and they were imprisoned in Westerbork and Theresienstadt concentration camps.

After the war, the Pintuses contacted Walter Goldsmith's mother, Florence, and they kept in touch for some years. During that time, Lise Pintus wrote the narrative of her family's experiences and sent it to Florence. After Florence's death, the narrative and other materials, including an autobiographical novel written by Lore Pintus and excerpts from an unnamed child's 1901 diary, were translated from German to English by Michael Lombardi and compiled into The Pintus Translations.