Beaded bib necklace made by a young Polish Jewish refugee in Russia

Nechama (Chuma) Ejnes was born in Wojslawice, Poland (now Voislavychi, Ukraine), on March 5, 1927, to an Orthodox Jewish family. Her father, Moishe Shmuel (1896-6/3/1975), was from Grabovitz and her mother, Chana Devorah Gross (1896-9/6/1991), was from Krasniczyn. Nechama had three younger siblings: a sister, Miriam, and two brothers, Shraga and Zvi. In September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and the Ejnes family fled east to the Soviet Union. It was a spontaneous decision made by her mother. Russian men driving by in a military truck offered a ride across the border which they accepted. Everything was left behind because there was no time to pack. The men did not ask for any payment, but Nechama gave them the watch she was wearing as a gift of thanks. After being dropped off in Russia, the family wandered from town to town until they arrived in Kostroma, a poor, bitterly cold town. The government assigned the family a single room with a separate kitchen that they shared with several other families for the next seven years. Moishe, who was a hatmaker, got work at the local hat factory; he also did piecework at home. Nechama and other members of the family sold hats in the bazaar. They also would get white socks, dye them different colors, and resell them. But life was difficult; they were always hungry and even potato peels were a luxury to eat. The war ended in Europe on May 8, 1945. The family was able to get to the Rochelle displaced persons camp near Hessisch-Lichtenau, Germany, in 1946. While there, Nechama met Bunim Friedman, who was in a displaced persons camp in Eschwege. Bunim was born circa April 10, 1918, in Kobryn, Poland. He had survived the war by hiding his Jewish identity and joining the Soviet Army. Most of his family perished during the Holocaust. Nechama and Bunim were married on January 13, 1948. In 1949, they immigrated to the United States with their infant daughter. Nechama’s parents and her three siblings immigrated to Israel. Nechama and Bunim changed their names to Helen and Bernard, settled in Brooklyn, and had two more children. Bunim's father had been a bookbinder and Bunim eventually started a business creating hand bound wedding albums. Nechama (Helen) passed away, age 73, on June 3, 2000. Bunim (Bernard), age 89, died on November 1, 2007.

The necklace was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Linda Friedman Schmidt, Rita Friedman, and Dr. Jay Lawrence Friedman, the children of Helen (Nechama) Ejnes Friedman.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Linda Friedman Schmidt, Rita Friedman, and Dr. Jay Lawrence Friedman