Monogrammed red pouch used by an American concentration camp inmate

Identifier
irn556084
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2016.468.3
Dates
1 Jan 1945 - 31 Dec 1945
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 4.125 inches (10.478 cm) | Width: 6.125 inches (15.558 cm)

Archival History

The pouch was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection

Funding Note: The acquisition of this artifact was made possible by The Philip and Janet Levin Foundation Family Fund.

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

Red pouch embroidered with her initials ER used by Elsie Ragusin to carry her prayer book (2016.468.4). She acquired the book, Massime Eterne, in exchange for her food rations while she was a prisoner in Ravensbrück concentration camp. Elsie was born in New York to a couple who had immigrated years earlier to America from Italy. In 1939, the Ragusin family went to Italy on an extended visit. Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies. Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. She was liberated in 1945, and taken to Sweden to recover. She returned to the US in December 1945, and was reunited with her brothers.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Red cloth pouch with a metal zipper and leather strap. Embroidered on the top left corner are the initials ER inside a heart .

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.