Nazi armband with a swastika acquired by a US soldier

Identifier
irn8296
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1993.59.14
Dates
1 Jan 1945 - 31 Dec 1945
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) | Width: 8.000 inches (20.32 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Mordecai E. Schwartz had a college degree in business adminstration and was fluent in six languages when he enlisted in the United States Army in 1942. After the war ended in May 1945, he was stationed in Munich, Germany, and was recruited by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). He requested and was granted a European discharge from the US Army and became the Area Director for UNRRA in the US Zone in Germany from 1945 to 1948. Upon the deactivation of UNRRA in 1948, he was transferred and made Area Director for the International Refugee Organization (IRO), supervising twenty-eight displaced persons camps in Germany. The displaced persons camps were set up to house and feed, and to provide medical service, and legal protection for survivors of the concentration and slave labor camps, and to offer them the chance to reestablish their lives postwar. When IRO was deactivated in 1951, Mordecai was recruited by US Air Force Intelligence in Munich and served in their worldwide operations until his retirement with highest honors.

Archival History

The armband was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by Mordecai Schwartz.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mordecai E. Schwartz

Scope and Content

Nazi swastika armband acquired by Mordecai E. Schwart. Schwartz, a soldier in the United States Army. After the war ended in May 1945, Schwartz was recruited to serve as Area Director for UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). He worked for UNRRA until 1948, when the organization was deactivated. He then became Area Director for the International Refugee Organization (IRO), supervising twenty-eight displaced persons camps in Germany. The DP camps were set up to house and feed, and to provide medical service and legal protection for survivors of the concentration and slave labor camps, and to offer them the chance to reestablish their lives postwar. When IRO was deactivated in 1951, Mordecai was recruited by US Air Force Intelligence.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Red cloth armband with a black swastika on a white circle sewn to the front.

Corporate Bodies

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.