Abstract
Collection is comprised of photographs, correspondence, and other documents created by Holocaust survivor Maurice Halfon Behar and his family from the 1920s to 2015. The photographs depict the Behar, Bally, and Halfon families from the 1920s to the 1950s. They show Maurice Behar as a child with his mother in France, and his parents' families in Istanbul, Turkey, and Biarritz, France. The documents and correspondence to and from the family of Maurice Halfon Behar regard reparations from the French and German governments for the displacement of the Halfon family during the German occupation of France.
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Scope and Contents Note
Collection is comprised of photographs, correspondence, and other documents created by Holocaust survivor Maurice Halfon Behar and his family from the 1920s to 2015. The photographs depict the Behar, Bally, and Halfon families from the 1920s to the 1950s. They show Maurice Behar as a child with his mother in France, and his parents' families in Istanbul, Turkey, and Biarritz, France. The documents and correspondence to and from the family of Maurice Halfon Behar regard reparations from the French and German governments for the displacement of the Halfon family during the German occupation of France.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order.
Biographical / Historical Note
Maurice “Maury” Halfon Behar was born in Biarritz, France in 1938 and spent his early childhood in Bayonne, France. On January 12, 1944 the Nazis took his parents from their home, but Behar was left behind due to a bout with measles. He was then cared for by his neighbor, Marie Cazous, passing as her son, until he was adopted by relatives from the United States and moved to New York City in 1947.
Behar spent the next decade in New York City, spending his adolescent years in the South Bronx, and then studying business and prelaw at New York University. After graduation, Behar served in the United States Army, and soon after, took his first job as a welfare investigator for the City of New York. Ten months later, he started his sales career entering a trainee program at Playtex, and continued with various sales positions, eventually ending up in Los Angeles. Behar later received his real estate broker’s license and started his own company, Northridge Equity, with a partner.
After closing a large real estate sale in Las Vegas, Behar moved with his son, Brett, to the city in 1990, as did his business partner. After struggling with ventures alongside his partner, Behar finally started a new career in hotel security, first with a position at the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino. He later moved to a position at the New York New York Hotel and Casino soon after it opened in 1997.
Preferred Citation
Maurice Halfon Behar Papers, 1920s-2015. MS-00801. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
In 2016, Maurice Behar donated digital surrogates, but retained the original items; accession number 2016-017.
Processing Note
Materials were processed in 2016 by Meghan Gross.
Administrative Information
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Existence and Location of Originals
This collection is comprised exclusively of digital surrogates. The donor retained the original items.