Leather charm pin made from scraps by an inmate in Bergen-Belsen

Identifier
irn521859
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1988.126.30
Dates
1 Jan 1944 - 31 Dec 1944
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Ruth Klemens (1927-2011) was born in Berlin to Alfred Wiener (b. 1885) and Margarethe Wiener (nee Saulmann, 1895-1945). They moved to Amsterdam in 1934 with her grandmother, Amalia Wiener. Around 1938 Alfred moved to London, and he relocated to the United States before Pearl Harbor. Ruth was deported to Westerbork with her mother and sisters, Eva and Mirjam, in June 1943. They were transferred to Bergen-Belsen in January 1944. They left in January 1945 for Switzerland as part of a prisoner exchange based on Paraguayan passports her father had purchased for them. Her mother died upon arrival in Switzerland, and Ruth and her sisters were transferred to Marseilles, where they were put on a boat to the United States in February 1945.

Archival History

The pin was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by Ruth Wiener Klemens.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ruth Klemens

Scope and Content

The pin was created by Ruth Wiener from leather scraps found in her workplace in Westerbork concentration camp.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Made with scraps of leather; top piece is brown leather rectangle, string hanging down with five "charms" at the end of each including a brown horseshoe, red heart, blue four leaf clover, and an anchor.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.