Pin made by a concentration camp inmate bought by 2 child inmates for their mother
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 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 brooch 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
Floral cloth brooch given to Sala Spett by her children, Monius (later Martin) and Rozia, while the family was imprisoned in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany between May 1943 and April 1945. It was bought on her birthday, May 19, 1943, "as a remembrance by my children, Rozia, 9, and Monius, 14, and my husband, for a slice of bread which meant a day's hunger in Bergen-Belsen." The brooch was handmade by a young girl from Warsaw who was in their camp. The family was from Tarnow, Poland. Sala was an American citizen raised in Poland. Her husband worked at the city's tax office. After the German occupation 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 while 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
Hand crafted, oval shaped, floral brooch made of painted cloth. In the center is a large red-orange flower, with 3 smaller blue flowers with yellow centers resembling violets on the right, and 1 smaller blue flower with yellow center and three red-orange berries on the left. The flowers are surrounded by a ring of 12 green leaves, There is a pin on the back.
Subjects
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Tarnow--Biography.
- Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography.
- Jewish families--Poland--Tarnow--Biography.
- Concentration camp inmates--Germany--Celle--Biography.
- Child concentration camp inmates--Germany--Celle--Biography.
- Jews--Persecutions--Poland--Tarnow--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Tarnow--Personal narratives.
Genre
- Object
- Jewelry