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Displaying items 1,021 to 1,040 of 1,113
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Item type: Archival Descriptions

  1. Pair of tefillin with an embroidered green velvet bag used by a Czech Jewish refugee

    1. Frank Meissner family collection
    • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    • irn37631
    • English
    • a: Height: 6.250 inches (15.875 cm) | Width: 7.000 inches (17.78 cm) b: Height: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm) | Width: 4.500 inches (11.43 cm) c: Height: 9.250 inches (23.495 cm) | Width: 5.500 inches (13.97 cm)

    Tefillin set and green velvet storage pouch used by Franz Meissner who left Czechoslovakia for Denmark in October 1939. Tefillin are small boxes that contain prayers that are attached to leather straps and worn by Orthodox Jewish males during morning prayers. Franz, age 16, left Trest in October 1939 because of the increasing persecution of Jews as Czechoslovakia was dismembered by Nazi Germany and its allies. With the encouragement of his family, he left for Denmark with Youth Aliyah, a organization that helped people to emigrate to Palestine. In 1943, the Germans began to deport all Jews ...

  2. Striped silk tallit, green velvet bag and white liner used by a Czech Jewish refugee

    1. Frank Meissner family collection
    • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    • irn37625
    • English
    • a: Height: 33.000 inches (83.82 cm) | Width: 75.750 inches (192.405 cm) b: Height: 8.500 inches (21.59 cm) | Width: 13.250 inches (33.655 cm) c: Height: 10.750 inches (27.305 cm) | Width: 13.000 inches (33.02 cm)

    Black striped silk tallit gadol, a prayer shawl worn by Jewish males during morning services, and two storage pouches used by Franz Meissner. Frank, age 16, left Czechoslovakia in October 1939 because of the increasing Nazi persecution of Jews as Czechoslovakia was dismembered by Nazi Germany and its allies. With the encouragement of his family, he left for Denmark with members of Youth Aliyah, a organization that helped people to emigrate to Palestine. In 1943, the Germans began to deport all Jews from Denmark. Frank was warned that the Gestapo was looking for him and he was smuggled on a ...

  3. Belt for a kittel [ceremonial robe] saved by a Czech Jewish refugee

    1. Frank Meissner family collection

    Long, narrow belt for a kittel, a ceremonial robe worn by a Jewish male, used by Norbert Meissner, who was president of the synagogue in Trest, Czechoslovakia, before and during the Holocaust. He and his wife, Lotte, and son, Leo, were deported to Theresienstadt in 1943. A year later, they were sent to Auschwitz death camp where they perished. The belt was preserved by his son, Frank. Frank, age 16, left Czechoslovakia in October 1939 because of the increasing Nazi persecution of Jews as Czechoslovakia was dismembered by Nazi Germany and its allies. With the encouragement of his family, he ...

  4. Blue striped tallit with embroidered Hebrew text used by a Czech Jewish refugee

    1. Frank Meissner family collection

    Embroidered tallit gadol, a prayer shawl worn by Jewish males during morning prayers, used by Franz Meissner. Frank, age 16, left Trest in October 1939 because of the increasing Nazi persecution of Jews as Czechoslovakia was dismembered by Nazi Germany and its allies. With the encouragement of his family, he left for Denmark with members of Youth Aliyah, a organization that helped people to emigrate to Palestine. In 1943, the Germans began to deport all Jews from Denmark. Frank was warned that the Gestapo was looking for him and he was smuggled on a fishing boat to Sweden. He had been recei...

  5. Dark blue paper covered suitcase used by a Jewish refugee

    1. Ernest and Ruth Chambre collection

    Dark blue suitcase used by Ernest Chambre, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany. In 1933, Ernest, originally from Belgium, was a law student in Berlin when Hitler was appointed Chancellor. The persecution of Jews by the Nazi government caused him to flee to Belgium and then, in 1934/1935, to Palestine. Ernest left for Spain, presumably to get to the US, but was imprisoned in Miranda de Ebro internment camp. After his release, he returned to Palestine and married Ruth Elsoffer, a fellow refugee, in 1937. Ruth emigrated to the United States in 1946; Ernest arrived in October 1947.

  6. Medical Pot Bergen Belsen 1944 Satirical drawing of his prescription made by a camp inmate for his doctor, a fellow inmate

    1. Bela Gondos family collection

    Elegant cartoon in pencil and watercolor done by Istvan Irsai and given to Dr. Bela Gondos in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on October 17, 1944, as an expression of gratitude. It depicts an oversize thermometer stuck into a piece of bread, Dr. Gondos's prescription for his starving patient, whom he saw weekly. Both men were inmates arrived in the camp on the Kastzner rescue transport from Budapest, on July 8, 1944. Bela diagnosed Istvan with starvation and the prescribed extra portion of bread was filled by the informal organization of the Hungarian camp. Bela's wife Anna and 7 year old ...

  7. Czech Air Force pilot badge issued to a Jewish veteran

    1. Frank Meissner collection

    Czech Air Force pilot badge issued to Frank Meissner for his service in the Czech Air Force from 1944-1945 for the Czech government in exile in Great Britain. It may be an observers badge. At the age of 16, Frank left Trest, Czechoslovakia, in 1939 to avoid the increasingly harsh Nazi persecutions of Jews. He went to Denmark with Youth Aliyah to attend agricultural school. In fall 1943, when the Germans decided to deport all Jews from Denmark, Frank was smuggled on a fishing boat to Sweden. During his exile, he received weekly letters from his family, even after their deportation to Theresi...

  8. 1st Anniversary commemorative pin for the victims of Theresienstadt acquired by a Czech Jewish survivor

    1. Frank Meissner collection

    First anniversary commemorative pin for the May 12, 1945, liberation of Theresienstadt concentration camp acquired by Frank Meissner, whose family had been imprisoned in the ghetto/labor camp in Czechoslovakia. On September 16, 1945, there was a public ceremonial burial for 601 victims exhumed from six mass grave sites uncovered at the Small Fortress. From 1940-1945, the Small Fortress served as the prison at the Terezin camp. At the age of 16, Frank left Trest, Czechoslovakia, in 1939 to avoid the increasingly harsh Nazi persecutions of Jews. He went to Denmark with Youth Aliyah to attend ...

  9. Wreath shaped badge owned by a Jewish veteran of the Air Force for the Czech government in exile

    1. Frank Meissner collection

    Wreath shaped pin with a fish owned by Frank Meissner who served in the Czech Air Force from 1944-1945 for the Czech government in exile. At the age of 16, Frank left Trest, Czechoslovakia, in 1939 to avoid the increasingly harsh Nazi persecutions of Jews. He went to Denmark with Youth Aliyah to attend agricultural school. In fall 1943, when the Germans decided to deport all Jews from Denmark, Frank was smuggled on a fishing boat to Sweden. During his exile, he received weekly letters from his family, even after their deportation to Theresienstadt ghetto. The letters stopped in 1943. In the...

  10. Czech lion coat of arms cap badge owned by a Jewish veteran of the Czech Air Force in exile

    1. Frank Meissner collection

    Tinnie, or pressed tin pincap badge owned by Frank Meissner, who served in the Czech Air Force from 1944-1945 for the Czech government in exile. It features the Czech coat-of-arms with the rampant split-tailed lion of Bohemia. At the age of 16, Frank left Trest, Czechoslovakia, in 1939 to avoid the increasingly harsh Nazi persecutions of Jews. He went to Denmark with Youth Aliyah to attend agricultural school. In fall 1943, when the Germans decided to deport all Jews from Denmark, Frank was smuggled on a fishing boat to Sweden. During his exile, he received weekly letters from his family, e...

  11. Enameled stickpin for the Studiosorum World Congress owned by a former Czech Jewish soldier

    1. Frank Meissner collection

    Red and blue enameled stickpin acquired by Frank Meissner during the 1946 Studiosorum Congress in Prague. It features the logo design of a globe, open book, and flaming torch that symbolize youth's persisent quest for knowledge. This was the founding congress of the International Student Union created to promote democracy and education among students of all nations. At the age of 16, Frank left Trest, Czechoslovakia, in 1939 to avoid the increasingly harsh Nazi persecutions of Jews. He went to Denmark with Youth Aliyah to attend agricultural school. In fall 1943, when the Germans decided to...

  12. Pametni Medaile Ceskoslovenska Armada V Zahranici (Czechoslovak Army Abroad) awarded to a Czech Jewish soldier

    1. Frank Meissner collection
    • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    • irn44079
    • English
    • 1939-1945
    • a: Height: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm) b: Height: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Width: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm)

    Commemorative medal for the Czechoslovak Army Abroad 1939-1945 with ribbon and pin awarded to Franz Meissner for his service from 1944-1945 with the Czech Air Force for the government in exile based in Great Britain. The medal was awarded to those Czechoslovaks who were outside their country at the time of the German invasion, or subsequently escaped abroad, and joined Allied forces or all-Czechoslovak units. Franz arrived in England in September 1944. He was told that if he wanted refuge and a Czech passport, he had to volunteer for the Czech government in exile army. He served in the Roya...

  13. Hockenheimer, Loewenthal, Fraenkel, and Brock families papers

    1. Hockenheimer, Loewenthal, Fraenkel, and Brock families collection

    The Hockenheimer, Loewenthal, Fraenkel, and Brock families papers include photographs, family trees, biographical materials, identification papers, certificates, school records, immigration and naturalization records, correspondence, and research materials relating to Ralph Martin Hockley (formerly Rudolf Martin Hockenheimer), Eva Fraenkel Hockley, and their families from Germany. The papers document the Hockenheimer family’s experiences seeking refuge in France, working with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and immigrating to the United States via Trinidad; and the Fraenkel f...

  14. Peter and Berta Victor papers

    1. Peter Victor family collection

    The Peter and Berta Victor papers consist of an autograph book, biographical materials, correspondence, printed materials, restitution files, and writings documenting Peter and Berta Victor, their families, and their lives in Berlin, Vienna, Shanghai, and the United States. The autograph book belonged to Peter Victor and contains a handful of entries from friends and family members. Biographical materials consist of family trees; identification papers; birth, marriage, and death certificates; affidavits; employment records; and letters of recommendation documenting Peter and Berta Victor, P...

  15. canceled British postage stamp acquired by a German Jewish refugee

    1. Peter Victor family collection

    canceled British 2.5 shilling postage stamp acquired by Peter Victor when he lived as a refugee in Shanghai, China, from 1938-1947. Peter, 18, left Berlin for Shanghai in 1938 to escape the anti-Jewish policies of the Nazi-led government. His parents, Carl and Elsa, arrived in Shanghai in 1939. Carl died in 1940 and Elsa in 1942. Shanghai was liberated by the United States Army on September 3, 1945. With the aid of the American Joint Distribution Committee, Peter emigrated to America in December 1947.

  16. Appenzeller and Dukes families papers

    1. Appenzeller and Dukes families collection

    The Dukes and Appenzeller families papers include a 1945 autobiographical essay by Erna Appenzeller; birth certificates, a marriage certificate, a tax document, passports, and naturalization papers for William, Irma, and Erna Appenzeller; photographs of the Dukes and Appenzeller families and their friends; a 1940 postcard from Irma’s sister Frieda Grün and her husband Rudolf; and restitution files documenting William Appenzeller, Irma Dukes Appenzeller, and Erna Appenzeller (Ernie Kent) from Vienna, their immigration to the United States, and their efforts to receive restitution for losses ...

  17. Vakar family collection

    The Vakar family papers consist of correspondence, memoirs, manuscripts, news clippings, postcards, and other documents and materials related to the immigration of the Vakar family from France to the United States in 1940-1941, as well as the role of the American aid workers who helped them, Martha and Waitstill Sharp. Collection includes postcards and correspondence from the period of their immigration, later memoirs written by various members of the family recounting their experiences during their escape and their arrival in the United States, as well as news clippings and other material ...

  18. Skirt made by a German Jewish woman to demonstrate her sewing capabilities

    1. Elfriede Gerson Hillelsohn collection

    Maroon wool sampler skirt made by Elfriede Hillelsohn in Hamburg, Germany, to prove her sewing skills prior to her work in a Nazi uniform factory. Elfriede trained as a seamstress in Weener, Germany, before moving to Hamburg in 1936. While in Hamburg, Elfriede belonged to a German-Jewish youth movement where she met and soon became engaged to Kurt Hillelsohn. After Kristallnacht in November 1938, Kurt immigrated to the United States and Elfriede and her mother moved in with his family. During this time, Elfriede worked as a forced laborer in a German uniform factory. With financial support ...

  19. Eva and Otto Pfister papers

    Accretion to the Eva and Otto Pfister Papers including correspondence, documents, booklet, papers, clippings, translations, pamphlets, leaflets, speeches, writings, tickets, passes, photos, and other materials.

  20. Aluminum wardrobe trunk used by a German Jewish emigrant family

    1. Bruno Einstein family collection

    Aluminum wardrobe trunk used by Bruno Einstein, his wife Frieda, and their five year old son Dieter for their November 1939 journey to the United States. On Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938, Bruno and his brother Arthur were arrested in their hometown of Fellheim, Germany, and sent to Dachau concentration camp. Both were released in early January 1939. The family received visas for the United States, sponsored by Bruno’s maternal aunt Frieda Jeffries. Bruno, Frieda, and Dieter left Germany for Genoa, Italy in 1939, then sailed to New York in November. Bruno’s brother, Arthur, and sister, M...