This newsletter was produced by the crew of the USAT General C.C. Ballou and includes information about services onboard, ship terminology, and news bulletins. The family of William A. Mrazek, an engineer who was already in the United States at Fort Bliss, Texas, immigrated from Germany to the United States on the Ballou. The newsletter was produced in both English and German.
The document identifies Berta Mrazek's family lineage, including parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and 2nd-great grandparents. The Ahnenpass was a standard booklet issued to German citizens in order to prove their ancestry in the Third Reich.
The group gave out autographs during their visit to Redstone Arsenal in 1959. A news clipping with a photograph of five of the seven astronauts in Huntsville is attached.
Given by Auburn University president Ralph Brown Draughon, the citation notes Mrazek's accomplishments as "Marshall Space Flight Center's chief engineer."
This German identity card, or Personalausweis, was issued to Berta Mrazek at Nestomitz, Germany (now Neštěmice, Czech Republic) in 1941. The card includes a photograph of Mrazek and her daughter Ursula.
