Leather wallet with a painted geometric design used by a Polish Jewish refugee
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 4.125 inches (10.478 cm) | Width: 6.250 inches (15.875 cm) | Depth: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm)
Archival History
The wallet 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
Painted brown wallet 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
Rectangular, brown leather, bifold wallet with a scalloped and geometric stamped design hand painted in red, orange, green, blue and black. On 1 side of the interior is a large accordion pocket with a leather trimmed cloth divider. On the other side is a large slot pocket with a curved edge and a leather trimmed cloth divider. A small curved slot pocket is sewn on the center of the large pocket. The large pockets are sewn into the edge seams and open near the inner horizontal wallet fold, which is reinforced with a strip of brown leather. The interior is lined with black cloth. The painted design has faded and the large pockets are detaching.
Subjects
- Jewish refugees--United States--Biography.
- Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Ukraine--Sokal--Personal narratives.
- Poland--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Personal narratives.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--United States--Personal narratives.
Genre
- Dress Accessories
- Object