Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp food coupon issued to an Austrian Jewish prisoner
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm)
Creator(s)
- Herbert Blau (Subject)
Biographical History
Herbert Blau was born on July 28, 1931, in Vienna, Austria. His father, Adolph, was a decorated, disabled World War II veteran who was a licensed tobacco vendor. His mother, Elsa, was a graduate of the Vienna Conservatory of Music. He had an older sister, Gertrude, born on March 14, 1925. They were an observant Jewish family. In March 1938, the Anschluss or the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany occurred. Anti-Jewish legislation was enacted and the civil rights of Jews were dissolved. On August 13, 1942, the family was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The family was separated, as men and women were housed in separate barracks. Herbert contracted TB and another inmate, Ursula Pawel, shared the vitamins and food she received from her mother to help him recover. In 1944, Herbert was able to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah at a ceremony presided over by Rabbi Leo Baeck. On May 2, 1945, the Germans transferred administration of the camp to the International Red Cross. The family was sent to the Deggendorf displaced persons camp in Germany. Herbert received training as a locksmith and welder in the ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training) vocational school. The family resided in the camp until November 1947 when, with the assistance of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, they were granted visas for the United States, where they settled in Vineland, New Jersey. Herbert passed away, age 54, in 1985.
Archival History
The ration coupon was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Jeffrey A. Gordon, the son of Gertrude Blau Gordon.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Jeffrey A. Gordon
Scope and Content
Ration coupon used by Adolph Blau and his family when they were imprisoned in the Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp. All currency was confiscated upon entry and replaced with scrip and ration coupons that could be exchanged only in the camp. Adolph, his wife, two children, and mother-in-law were deported from Vienna, Austria, in 1942. They lived in the camp until the International Red Cross took over administration of the camp from the Germans on May 2, 1945. The family then was transferred to the Deggendorf displaced persons camp in Germany where they lived until their immigration to the United States in 1948.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Irregularly cut, rectangular, light brown paper coupon. The front has printed graphics with German text in brown ink. There lines that are filled in by hand in black ink. In the upper right corner are stamped letters. The reverse has rectangular dark brown paper attached near the center. Coupons have been clipped off the lower left edge and the right side for use.
Subjects
- Concentration camp inmates--Czech Republic--Terezín (Ustecky kraj)
- Jewish families--Austria--Vienna.
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Germany--Deggendorf.
- Jewish refugees--Germany--Deggendorf.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Austria--Vienna--Personal narratives.
- World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Austria.
Genre
- Exchange Media
- Object