A Request for Information from the Bernd Rosemeyer Family
1937 Vanderbilt Cup Race winner Bernd Rosemeyer's grandson has reached out to VanderbiltCupRaces.com for information concerning his grandfather. If anyone has any further information, feel free to email [email protected] or post here in the comments.
Greg O.
Bernd Rosemeyer III writes;
Dear Mr. Kroplick,
I am the grandson of Bernd Rosemeyer and Elly Beinhorn and am currently researching a very specific question concerning Bernd Rosemeyer’s victory in the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup at Roosevelt Raceway.
I understand that Rosemeyer received substantial prize money for winning the race. Later accounts indicate that Bernd and Elly may have deposited part of this prize money in an American bank account before returning to Europe.
I am trying to establish exactly how the Vanderbilt Cup prize money was paid out and, if possible, which bank was involved.
Given your extensive research into the Vanderbilt Cup races and the surviving collections relating to the 1936 and 1937 events, I would be extremely grateful if you could advise whether any archival material survives concerning:
- the payment of Bernd Rosemeyer’s 1937 prize money
- the name of the bank on which the prize cheque was drawn
- copies or records of prize cheques
- payment vouchers, accounting records or correspondence of the race organizers
- records showing to whom and how the $20,000 winner’s prize was paid
- any reference to Rosemeyer or Elly Beinhorn opening or using a bank account in New York following the race
Even identifying the issuing bank or the financial institution used by the organizers would be extremely helpful, as it could provide a lead for further archival research.
If the relevant records are held by another institution — for example the Nassau County archives, the Cradle of Aviation Museum, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, or another collection — I would greatly appreciate any guidance as to where you believe the original financial records of the 1937 event may have ended up.
As this concerns my grandparents and our family history, any lead would be of great value to me.
Thank you very much for your time and assistance.
Kind regards,
Bernd Rosemeyer III
This article by Thomas G. O'Keefe was posted in the Golden Era of Grand Prix racing website and provides some insight into the Rosemeyer Long Island bank account.
Interestingly, this is what they did with the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup winnings as a hedge against future events, Bernd and Elly opened up a bank account at a New York bank and into the account went a portion of the $20,000 prize money.
Many years later, when Elly Beinhorn became aware of a gropup of American women pilots who wanted to honor Amelia Earhart with a U.S. Postage Stamp. Elly remembered that long ago weekend on Long Island when her husband won the race but Elly lost a fellow flyer. She tracked down the New York bank account she and Bernd had established and the proceeds were used to support the campaign to honor Amelia Earnhardt.
Comments