Blue plaid handkerchief owned by a Polish Jewish refugee
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 16.000 inches (40.64 cm) | Width: 15.625 inches (39.688 cm)
Archival History
The handkerchief was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Henry and Shelley Kornman, the son and daughter-in-law of Julius Kornman.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Henry and Shelley Kornman
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
Blue and offwhite handkerchief owned by Yuda (Ido) Kornmann, a Jewish man from Sokal, Poland, who survived the Holocaust with his wife Hela and young daughter Regina. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Three weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Sokal was in eastern Poland (later Ukraine) and was occupied by the Soviet Union. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, the town was overrun by German troops on June 23. Most of Ido’s relatives and the Jewish population of Sokal were deported to Belzec killing center in 1942. After the war ended in May 1945, Ido, Hela, and Regina presumably lived as displaced persons in Germany near Foehrenwald. The family, now including two young sons, emigrated to the United States in 1950.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Square, hemmed, offwhite cotton handkerchief with a plaid border of intersecting wide light blue and narrow woven white lines, overlaid with an blue thread accent line. The cloth is soiled and stained, with many tears.
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--United States--Personal narratives.
- Poland--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Ukraine--Sokal--Personal narratives.
- Jewish refugees--United States--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Personal narratives.
Genre
- Object
- Dress Accessories