Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp food ration coupon issued to an Austrian Jewish prisoner

Identifier
irn517887
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2005.517.64
Dates
1 Jan 1942 - 31 Dec 1945
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Elsa Rosenthal was born to an orthodox Jewish family in Vienna, Austria, on October 23, 1893. Her mother, Fanny, was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1870, and immigrated to the United States in 1876 when her father, a cantor, accepted a position there. Fanny received US citizenship, but when her father died, returned to Europe, where she married, settled in Vienna, and had three children, Elsa, Leo, and Melanie. Melanie, who had a daughter, Edith, died of a head injury in the 1930s. Elsa graduated from the Vienna Conservatory of Music, with a degree in piano. In 1924, she married Adoph Blau in the Turkischer [Turkish] Temple, a Sephardic synagogue. They had two children, Gertrude, born on March 14, 1925, and Herbert, born on July 28, 1931. Following the Anschluss in March 1938, when Austria was annexed to Germany, anti-Jewish laws were passed and Jews were targeted for persecution and deportation. Elsa’s mother refused to leave without her family and attempted to get them all to the United States, but immigration was difficult and expensive. On August 13, 1942, the family was deported by the Germans to Theresienstadt concentration camp. They were separated as men and women were housed in different barracks. Elsa worked as slave labor at a Messerschmitt airplane factory and a Telefunken electronics factory. Herbert was able to celebrate his Bar Mitvah in Terezin, and his sister was able to attend the ceremony. Not long after this, Gertrude was transferred to Auschwitz concentration camp. On May 2, 1945, the Germans transferred administration of Terezin to the International Red Cross. The family was sent to Deggendorf displaced persons camp in Germany, where they were reunited with Gertrude. The family resided in the camp until their emigration. In November 1947, with the assistance of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, they were granted visas for the United States, where they settled in Vineland, New Jersey. Adolph died in 1958. Fanny, age 91, died in 1961. Elsa passed away, age 94, in 1987.

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 are entry boxes and lines that are filled in by hand in light blue ink. In the upper right corner is a stamped image of 2 tunnels in black ink; on the lower right is a month stamp; in the upper center is a number stamp. Coupons have been clipped off for use. The reverse is blank.

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.