Soap used by a Polish Jewish concentration camp inmate
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Width: 2.250 inches (5.715 cm) | Depth: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm)
Creator(s)
- Martin Spett (Subject)
Biographical History
Monius (later Martin) Spett was born on December 2, 1928, in Tarnow, Poland. In September 1939, the city was occupied by Nazi Germany. In 1940, the German authorities removed Monius and his family from their apartment. During the first massacre of Jews, Monius hid in an attic. The family was able to hide during two more roundups. In May 1943, the family was registered, allegedly to be exchanged for German prisoners of war, because Monius' mother, Sala, was born in the United States. They were taken by train to Krakow and then to Bergen Belsen concentration camp in Germany. They were to be transported to Theresienstadt ghetto labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia, but the Allied troops' advance stopped the transport. Monius was liberated by American troops on April 13, 1945. After the war, he spent some time in Belgium and then immigrated to the United States in 1947.
Archival History
The soap was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990 by Martin Spett.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Martin Spett and family In memory of Arthur and Sala Spett
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
Soap used by Monek Spett. Monek lived in Tarnow, Poland, with his parents and younger sister Roslyn. His mother was an American citizen raised in Poland. His father worked at the city's tax office. After the German occupation began in September 1939, the family lived in the ghetto and in hiding. In 1943, they were deported to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. They were liberated whil on an evacuation train by American troops on April 13, 1945. The Spett family emigrated to the United States in 1947.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Rectangular bar of offwhite soap stamped "RIF 0073" with two lines impressed vertically on either side of the marking.
Subjects
- Concentration camp inmates--Germany--Celle--Biography.
- Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography.
- Child concentration camp inmates--Germany--Celle--Biography.
- Jews--Persecutions--Poland--Tarnow--Biography.
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Tarnow--Biography.
- Jewish families--Poland--Tarnow--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Tarnow--Personal narratives.
Genre
- Object
- Personal Equipment and Supplies