| | Abstract: | Cornelia Schnurmann was born in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1901, the daughter of a wealthy, well known philanthropic Jewish family. Little is known about her early life. In 1940, Schnurmann faced deportation to a Nazi concentration camp. A Catholic friend assisted her escape to Luxembourg where she found refuge in a convent and was given shelter by the Catholic Nuns. She came to America on August 20, 1941, and her journey was self-sponsored. Schnurmann, age 40 and unmarried, was the sole surviving member of her family. Whether her family died in the Holocaust or whether they were deceased at the time she left Germany remains unknown. In Cleveland, Ohio, she joined friends Dr. Julius and Helen Weil, respectively the director of Montefiore Home for the Aged, and head of its social services department. At Montefiore, Cornelia worked with the Weils in developing an occupational therapy department, a sheltered workshop, as well as therapeutic and innovative programs for the aging population. She died in an automobile accident in July, 1960. At her request, Dr. Weil served as executor and administrator of her estate, and, per her request, used a portion of the estate to create Schnurmann House, a multi-building complex dedicated to housing for the elderly, social activities, and social services.
The Cornelia Schnurmann Foundation Records collection consists of an address book, agendas, agreements, applications, appraisals, articles of incorporation, artwork, background information, a binder, blueprints, a booklet, certificates, codes of regulation, a constitution, a contract, corporate papers, correspondence, court records, deeds, donation slips, easements, eulogies, financial ledgers and statements, floor plans, a folder from Heritage Gardens, government records, invitations, a last will/testament, letters, lists, loans, maps, medical records, meeting minutes, a menu, newsletters, newspaper articles and clippings, notes, pamphlets, a passport copy, pension plans, photographs, plot plans, policy statements, population surveys, programs, proposals, requests for funds, reports, resolutions, resumes, schedules, sentimental items, social security cards, speech texts, thank you notes, time cards, a timeline, and waivers of lien. | |
