Martin Perlmutter papers
Extent and Medium
folders
8
Creator(s)
- Martin Perlmutter
Biographical History
Martin Perlmutter (1918-2005) was born Maier Margulies Perlmutter to a Polish family while they were evacuated to Boskovice, Czechoslovakia, during World War II. His parents were Jakob and Dora Perlmutter. In 1921 the family returned to Sasów, Poland, which was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1939. He was drafted into the Soviet army in 1941, survived the battle of Smolensk against the invading German forces, escaped a prisoner transport, and walked home to Sasów, which was then occupied by the Germans. He spent time in the concentration camps at Sasów, Zloczow, Lackie Wielkie, and Lemberg-Janowskastrasse before escaping again and hiding in the woods near Jasionów, Poland. He married his first wife, Dora Safier Perlmutter (1925-1950) in 1945, and the couple spent twenty two months in the displaced persons camp at Bari before immigrating to the United States in November 1947.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
The papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Martin Perlmutter in 1999.
Scope and Content
The Martin Perlmutter papers contain biographical materials and photographs documenting Perlmutter’s time in Italy with his wife, primarily in the Bari displaced persons camp, after World War II before their immigration to the United States. Many of the photographs depict camp demonstrations against British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin and restrictive Palestine immigration policies. Biographical materials include identification papers and travel papers documenting the displaced persons status of Martin and Dora Perlmutter and their immigration to the United States. Documents include immigration and naturalization records; displaced person, camp, and Red Cross identification papers; a letter from Perlmutter’s cousin, also named Martin Perlmutter; receipts documenting the couple’s passage to New York; and vaccination records. Photographs depict scenes in Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy and at the displaced persons camp in Bari, Italy. They document camp life; demonstrations against British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin and restrictive Palestine immigration policies; the chief rabbi of Israel’s visit to the camp; and sports events at the camp.
System of Arrangement
The Martin Perlmutter papers are arranged in two series: I. Biographical materials, 1945-1948, II. Photographs, 1945-1947
People
- Bevin, Ernest, 1881-1951.
Subjects
- Jewish refugees--Poland.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.
- Refugee camps--Italy--Bari.
- Bari (Italy)
- Jews, Polish.
- Jewish refugees--Italy--Bari.
- Holocaust survivors--Italy.
- Sasiv (Ukraine)
- Demonstrations--Italy--Bari.
Genre
- Document