Cigarette lighter crafted from a bullet shell casing by a prisoner in a Soviet labor camp
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) | Width: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Depth: 0.630 inches (1.6 cm)
Creator(s)
- Laszlo Weisz (Subject)
Biographical History
Laszlo Weisz was born on January 20, 1913. His wife, Edit Neubart, was born on October 9, 1917, in Szekesfehervar, Hungary. They had a son, Peter, who was born on December 9, 1939, in Kunszentmarton, Hungary. In June of 1942, Laszlo was conscripted into a forced labor detail. He served in several labor units in Hungary, Poland, and Russia. In late 1944-1945, as the war ended, he was imprisoned in a labor camp in Dnepropetrovsk, Soviet Union. Laszlo was a master watch and clock maker. He used these skills to survive the war, by bartering his services to repair personal time-pieces for soldiers. Laszlo was a prolific smoker, smoking as many as 50 cigarettes a day. After returning home to Hungary, he learned that his wife and 5 year old son, Peter, had been deported and killed at Auschwitz death camp. From that moment on, he swore never to allow himself the pleasure of smoking another cigarette. Laszlo remarried, to Ibolya Ungar, who was born on February 6, 1914, in Budapest, Hungary. They had a son, Robert. Laszlo passed away, age 70, in New York (United States) on October 4, 1983.
Archival History
The cigarette lighter was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Robert Weisz, the son of Laszlo Weisz.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Robert Weisz
Scope and Content
Cigarette lighter fabricated by Laszlo Weisz while he was imprisoned in a forced labor camp in Russia. He was a master watchmaker and bartered his services to obtain provisions while in the camps. Weisz was 29 years old and living with his wife and 5 year old son, Peter, in his hometown of Kunszentmarton, Hungary, when he was conscripted into a forced labor battalion in June of 1942. He was transferred to several labor units in Hungary, Poland, and the Soviet Union. At the end of the war in late 1944-1945, he was in a labor camp in Dnepropetrovsk in the Soviet Union. He returned to Hungary and learned that his wife and son had been killed in Auschwitz death camp.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Two cylinders attached by a metal band: the larger cylinder is a repurposed bullet shell casing, with a large screw on the bottom, and a reeded edge. The opposite side has a tapered end and a reeded edge. The smaller cylinder has a wheel with a reeded edge that strikes against the other form.
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor.
- Forced labor--Soviet Union.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary.
- World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Hungarian.
Genre
- Personal Equipment and Supplies
- Object