Asriel and Mascha Berkmann papers

Mascha Berkmann (née Rutstein, later Marsha Berkman, 1920-2007) was born in Raseiniai, Lithuania to Rachel (née Seidman) and Hershel Rutstein. She had three brothers, Benjamin, Henry, and Israel. Her father was a cobbler, but died when Mascha was 2 years old. Her mother supported the family by cooking and cleaning for other families. The children were not able to go to school, and Mascha began working at 13. She soon began working in a deli. While working there, she was introduced to Hillel Senjor, a widower with a small child. She agreed to marry him, and they had a daughter, Cecilia, in 1940. In 1941, Mascha, Hillel, Cecilia, and Mascha’s mother Rachel were sent to the Kaunas ghetto in Lithuania. Mascha did forced labor work on a military airport. They were then sent to Kauen-Šančiai subcamp after the ghetto was turned into the Kaunas concentration camp. Her daughter was taken from her in 1943 and perished with many other children from the camp. In 1944, Hillel was sent to Dachau concentration camp, and perished on the march. Mascha and her mother were sent to Stutthof concentration camp. After the camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945, Mascha and her mother were separated. Mascha went to Łódź, Poland briefly, and then went back to Lithuania to search for surviving family members. She found her brother Israel, but not her mother. She went Munich, Germany with the intention of immigrating to Israel. However, she then met Asriel Berkmann, whom she had met before in the Kaunas ghetto. They married in 1947, and immigrated to the United States in 1948. They settled in Los Angeles, California, and Mascha worked in the wardrobe department of Paramount Studios. Her husband, Asriel owned an upholstery store. She and Asriel had one son, Paul. Mascha’s brother Benjamin perished in the Holocaust. Her other brothers, Henry and Israel, both fled to Russia and survived. Her mother Rachel eventually joined Mascha in the United States.

Asriel Berkmann (later Philip Berkman, 1908-1983) was born in Prostken, Germany (now Prostki, Poland) to Paul and Luba (née Endelmann) Berkmann. His father worked as a chicken importer. He lived in Berlin, Germany and Lithuania before the war. He was married and had a child, both of whom perished during the Holocaust. During the war, he was in the Kaunas ghetto and the Kauen-Schanzen (Kaunas-Šančiai) subcamp before being sent to the Kaufering subcamp of Dachau. While at Kaufering, he was a kapo, and worked making bricks. He used his position to help his fellow prisoners in any way he could. After the war, he lived in Munich, and worked as the head of a factory. He was also involved with the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in Bavaria and the Jewish Committee Munich.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Paul Berkmann

The Asriel and Mascha Berkmann papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Paul Berkmann in 2016.