Pair of khaki ski mittens used by a German Jewish emigre in the US
Extent and Medium
a: Height: 13.500 inches (34.29 cm) | Width: 6.625 inches (16.827 cm)
b: Height: 13.125 inches (33.338 cm) | Width: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm)
Creator(s)
- Och Sports (Manufacturer)
- Mina K. Weiler (Subject)
Biographical History
Mina Kaufmann was born in Hainstadt, Germany, near Baden, on December 27, 1913, to Klara Oppenheimer Kaufmann. Klara had three brothers, Joseph, Julius, and Simon. Mina was especially close to Julius and his wife Elsa. They had no children of their own and Mina travelled frequently to Munich to visit them as well as her grandfather. Mina attended the University of Basel in Switzerland. During 1933, Hitler and the Nazi Party established a dictatorship in Germany. Jews were subject to increasingly punitive persecutions. In 1938, Mina emigrated to the United States. During the war, Klara was interned in Gurs internment camp in France. Mina was able to correspond with her and send her an affadavit of suppot for a US visa. Klara managed to escape and found a place to live in Marseilles. Mina’s maternal uncle, Simon, died in the Riga ghetto in Latvia. Mina married Carl Weiler, who had emigrated from Germany to the US in December 1937. The couple had two daughters. Carl, age 83, passed away April 27, 1988. Mina, age 85, passed away December 22, 1999.
Archival History
The mittens were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Judy Gartner and Susan Oberfeld, the daughters of Carl and Mina Kaufmann Weiler.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Judy Gartner and Susan Oberfeld
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
Ski mittens used by Mina Weiler in the United States. Mina Kaufmann emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1938 and married Carl Weiler.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
a. Faded, treated khaki cloth left hand mitten with a rounded hand and a wide cuff with an adjustable metal buckled strap sewn on the top. The attached thumb is reinforced with leather at the inner glove joint. There is a horizontal, cinched double band sewn on the center wrist. The interior is lined with offwhite wool with a white cloth name tag. The glove has stiffened and is discolored. b. Faded, treated khaki cloth right hand mitten with a rounded hand and a wide cuff with an adjustable metal buckled strap sewn on the top. The attached thumb is reinforced with leather at the inner glove joint. There is a horizontal, cinched double band sewn on the center wrist. The interior is lined with offwhite wool with a white cloth name tag. The glove has stiffened and is discolored. The cloth has stiffened and is discolored. The palm side center has white repair stitching.
a. interior, top edge, on cloth label, embroidered in red thread : M.WEILER a. interior, palm side, center, on cloth label, black thread : OCH. Sports / FABRI[Q]UÉ EN SUISSÉ b. interior, top edge, center, on cloth label, embroidered in red thread : M.WEILER
Subjects
- United States--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- Jews--Germany--History--20th century.
- Germany--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- Jews--Persecutions--Germany--Biography.
- Jewish refugees--United States--Biography.
Genre
- Dress Accessories
- Object