Small leather case with a detached lid used by a German Jewish refugee
Extent and Medium
a: Height: 9.500 inches (24.13 cm) | Width: 13.625 inches (34.608 cm) | Depth: 3.250 inches (8.255 cm)
b: Height: 9.000 inches (22.86 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Depth: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm)
Creator(s)
- Walter Gumpert (Subject)
Biographical History
Walter Gumpert was born in Germany to a Jewish couple, Isidor and Gertrud Kohls Gumpert. His father Isidor was born on July 18, 1869, in Ratzebuhr, Germany (now Okonek, Poland), to Baer (Bernhard) and Cecilie Kohls Gumpert. Isidor, a widower, was a grain farmer and businessman. In January 1933, Hitler came to power and, by summer, Germany was ruled by a Nazi dictatorship. As anti-Semitism increased, Walter and his wife Erna Bathk decided to leave Germany. On April 19, 1936, Walter and Erna sailed on the SS Eubee to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. On May 21, they arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay, where they settled. Walter’s father Isidor was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp and assigned prisoner number 10371. On November 29, 1938, Isidor was released from Sachsenhausen along with several other Jewish men. Three weeks previously, thousands of Jewish men were arrested during the Kristallnacht pogrom on November 9 and 10. On June 20, 1942, Walter and Erna had a daughter, Ruth. Isidor lived in Berlin and sent Walter telegrams through the Red Cross on June 6, July 15, October 14, and December 23, 1942. In 1944, Walter was contacted by the German government and told that Isidor could be released for 300 dollars. Walter did not hear from his father after 1942. The family believed that Isidor was deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp, then to Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was killed in 1943. Most of Walter’s extended family perished in the Holocaust.
Archival History
The briefcase was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Ruth Gumpert, the daughter of Walter Gumpert.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ruth Gumpert
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
Small leather attache case with a detached lid used by Walter Gumpert to store letters from relatives, including his father Isidor, still in Germany. As anti-Semitism increased under the Nazi dictatorship, Walter and his wife Erna left for Montevideo, Uruguay, in spring 1936. Isidor was later imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp and released on November 29, 1938. Walter received four Red Cross telegrams from Isidor from Berlin. The last was sent on December 23, 1942. Some family members believed that Isidor was killed in Auschwitz in 1943.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
a. Small, rectangular attache case base with a fiberboard body covered with dark brown alligator patterned leather. It has 2 rusted keyhole lock plates and a brown leather handle looped around metal rings inserted through leather tabs on the top. There is stitching around the corners and a reinforcing strip of leather riveted along the bottom edge where the lid was originally attached. It was constructed without hinges and the leather evenly tore where the lid separated. There are 4 rounded metal foot studs on the bottom corners. The interior is lined with thin cardboard covered with light brown textured cloth. Inside is a large folded piece of heavyweight, textured, brown paper. b. Small, shallow, rectangular, fiberboard attache case lid covered with dark brown alligator patterned leather. It has a narrow lip and 2 rusted key lock hasps on the top. The interior is lined with thin cardboard covered with light brown cloth. The leather is torn evenly along the bottom edge where the lid separated from the case.
Subjects
- Jews--Persecution--Germany--Berlin--Biography.
- Germany--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- Uruguay--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- Jewish refugees--Uruguay--Montevideo--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Berlin--Personal narratives.
- Jews, German--Uruguay--Montevideo--Biography.
Genre
- Object
- Containers