Gold pendant with the initials of a girl and her parents from her aunt
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Width: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm)
Creator(s)
- Rosemarie Mendelsohn (Subject)
- Inda L. Lypski (Subject)
Biographical History
Inda Leja Lypski was born in 1878 in Suwalki, Russia (now Poland), to Mejer and Chana Rywka Epsztejn Lypski. She had two sisters, Pesza and Fejga. In 1907, Inda’s sister Fejga immigrated to the United States and changed her name to Fanny. Inda married and lived in Warsaw. Inda and her husband Aaron owned a jewelry store. Circa 1930, Inda went to the US to visit Fanny, her husband Jacob Stine, and their children. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. German troops entered Warsaw on September 29. In October 1940, the Germans established the Warsaw ghetto, which was sealed in November. Inda died in the ghetto in 1940. Inda’s family and her sister Pesza also perished in the ghetto.
Archival History
The pendant was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Rosemarie Stine Mendelsohn, the niece of Inda Leah Lypski.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rosemarie Stine Mendelsohn
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
Gold pendant sent by Inda Leah Lypski to her 8 year old niece Rose Mary Stine in Indiana for the occasion of Rose Mary’s brother’s bar mitzvah in 1923. The pendant is engraved with the initials of Rose Mary, her father Jacob, and her mother Fanny, Inda’s sister who left Russia for America in 1907. Inda and her husband Aaron owned a jewelry store in Warsaw, Poland. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and, in October 1940, established the Warsaw ghetto. Inda died in the ghetto in 1940. Inda’s family and her sister Pesza also perished in the ghetto.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Small, flat, circular, gold pendant, probably 14 carat, 0.750 inches in diameter, engraved with stylized intertwined initials: J, F, and RMS. In the upper center, 2 small glass gems are inserted into pronged settings, pink on top and blue on the bottom. The back has 2 small rivet holes for the gem settings and stamped hallmarks. There is a bail at the top with a gold colored jump ring, with a small gold colored safety pin attached.
Subjects
- Jews--Indiana--History--20th century.
- Emigration and immigration--Russia--20th century.
- Jews--Poland--Warsaw--History--20th century.
- Jews--Social life and customs--History--20th century.
- Emigration and immigration--United States--20th century.
Genre
- Object
- Jewelry