Broken red clay tile from a brick factory in Kőszeg, Hungary

Identifier
irn564939
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2017.359.1 a-f
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

a: Height: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Width: 4.500 inches (11.43 cm) | Depth: 7.000 inches (17.78 cm)

b: Height: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Width: 4.625 inches (11.748 cm) | Depth: 5.000 inches (12.7 cm)

c: Height: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Width: 10.250 inches (26.035 cm) | Depth: 7.125 inches (18.098 cm)

d: Height: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Width: 7.000 inches (17.78 cm) | Depth: 7.125 inches (18.098 cm)

e: Height: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm) | Width: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm)

Archival History

The tile was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017 by the Municipality of Kőszeg.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Municipality of Köszeg

Scope and Content

Tile from a brick factory in Kőszeg, Hungary. Jewish residency in the town began in the 14th century and continued for five hundred years. From 1919 to 1921, Jews in Kőszeg and throughout Hungary were targeted by the White Terror pogroms for their perceived association with communism. Leading up to World War II, the Jewish population in the town was approximately 100 people. In December 1940, a forced labor camp was established with Jewish and non-Jewish workers at a brick field and an old brewery in the town. The camp housed eight thousand laborers who were forced to march 10 kilometers to and from work. They worked 10 hour days, 7 days a week, with only a daily ration of 17 ounces of bread. In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary and the Jews of Kőszeg along with other Jews from the surrounding area were confined to a small ghetto in the town. On July 4, the remaining Kőszeg Jews were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center in German occupied Poland. In March 1945, the Germans liquidated the labor camp. As part of the liquidation, 95 sick laborers were locked in a sealed barrack and gassed to death on the property of Kőszeg Varosi Teglagyàr (Kőszeg Urban Brickworks), one of two brick factories in the town. In 1985, a park and a memorial were erected on the former property of the brick factory where the execution took place.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

a: Broken end piece of a long, thin, red clay tile. The piece has three straight finished edges and one broken irregular edge. The surface is flat, uneven, pitted, and coarse, with a thin, dark, gray sheet on part of the exterior, likely from mortar. Along the center of the left edge, a small conical protrusion raises up from the surface, in line with the edge. The three unbroken sides are straight while the bottom half of the broken side juts out to a point near the bottom. The bottom is flat with a gray stained surface and a thin layer of gray mortar in spots. b: Triangular, broken interior piece of a long, thin, red clay tile. The surface is flat, pitted, and coarse with a thin, gray coating over most of the top exterior, likely from mortar. The top edge is straight and finished, the left and right edges are broken and unevenly extend down to a point. The bottom is flat with a discolored, gray shading over the red surface and an orange horizontal streak. c: Angular-shaped, broken interior piece of a long, thin, red clay red tile. The top and bottom edges are straight and finished, the right and left diagonal sides are broken diagonally with the left slight concave. The surface is flat, coarse, pitted, with a pale white discolored shading, and gray near the top edge. The bottom is flat with a dark gray discoloration over the red surface and two white, circular stains near the top edge. d: Triangular, broken end piece of a long, thin, red clay tile. The surface is flat, coarse, and pitted, with a pale white discolored shading, and dark gray near the right edge. The bottom and right edges are finished and straight, and the broken diagonal edge on the left. The bottom left corner is broken off. The bottom is flat with a dark gray discolored shading over the surface. e: Small, triangular, broken corner piece of a long, thin, red clay tile. The bottom and right edges are straight and finished while the top left edge is broken and curved. The surface is darkly discolored, the back side has a white spot on the surface. f: Four very small fragments from a red clay tile.

Corporate Bodies

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.