Large black and white striped wool tallit buried for safekeeping

Identifier
irn43407
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2010.487.1
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 62.750 inches (159.385 cm) | Width: 84.000 inches (213.36 cm)

Archival History

The tallit was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Louise Lawrence-Israels.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Louise Lawrence-Israels

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Scope and Content

Black and white striped tallit gadol that belonged to Louise Lawrence-Israels's grandfather, buried for safekeeping before the family left Haarlem, Netherlands, and went into hiding in Amsterdam in January 1943. The tallit, a prayer shawl worn during morning services, was recovered after the war. Germany occupied the Netherlands on May 10, 1940. In January 1943, the family went into hiding. In late 1943, it became too dangerous to house the family together. With assistance from the Dutch underground, part of the family moved to a different hiding place. Amsterdam was liberated by the Canadian Army on May 5, 1945. Some family members returned to Haarlem, others had gone to Sweden and did not learn that they were all alive until 1948. Most of their other family members were killed during the Holocaust.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Large, rectangular, white woolen shawl with matching sets of vertical black and white woven stripes of varying width repeated on each short end; the ends are finished with short white knotted fringe. There is a rectangular white silk atarah [neckband] sewn on the interior top center. Tzitzit, white twined and knotted tassels, are inserted near each corner which has been reinforced on the reverse with a square patch of cloth.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.