Two decks of Patience cards with 3 boxes brought with a young German Jewish refugee
Extent and Medium
a: Height: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm) | Width: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Depth: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm)
b: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Depth: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm)
c-bd: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm)
be: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Depth: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm)
bf-dg: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm)
Creator(s)
- Anneliese C. Marx (Subject)
- Altenburger und Stralsunder Spielkarten Fabriken (Manufacturer)
Biographical History
Anneliese Centawer was born on January 10, 1930, to James and Recha Huetzler (Hützler) Centawer in Nuremberg, Germany. Her mother Recha was born on June 23, 1891, in Huettenbach, Germany, to Moritz (1840-1922) and Amalie Selig Huetzler (1857-1918.) Recha had four younger brothers and nine half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Babette Talman. Recha was part of a very wealthy and large, extended family which owned several department stores and extensive financial holdings. Several family members immigrated to the United States in the 1880s. Recha’s father was a cattle dealer. Anneliese’s father James was born on July 21, 1888, in Nuremburg to Moritz (1830-1920) and Marie Gutmann Centawer (1854-1932.) His father operated a shoestore. James had a sister Henriette. James was a lieutenant in the German Army during World War I (1914-1918.) He then became the European trade representative for an electrical company that manufactured transformers. James and Recha married on August 17, 1924, and settled in Nuremberg. After the January 1933 appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany, the Nazi dictatorship enacted plans to persecute Jews and exclude them from German society. Anneliese attended the Israelitsche Folkshul and was taught German and Jewish subjects. Antisemitism increased and, on one occasion, Anneliese was beaten by a member of the Hitler Youth who, because of her red hair and freckles, accused Anneliese of trying to pretend to be a German. In 1936, the family had to move because their block was declared Judenfrei [Free of Jews.] In March 1938, with sponsorship by three of Recha's half-siblings in the US, the family received American visas. Anneliese and her parents sailed from Hamburg on the Manhattan and arrived on July 7, 1938, in New York. The family settled in the Bronx in New York City. During the war, Anneliese’s father James worked for the US Office of War Information in the censorship bureau and then for the US Treasury Department. They learned that three of Recha's half-siblings: Ida, Leopold, and Siegmund Huetzler, perished during the Holocaust. James’s sister Henrietta is believed to have been killed in a concentration camp gas chamber. Anneliese graduated from Hunter College High School and received a cum laude degree from Hunter College in 1951. On August 26 of the same year, she married Gunther Marx. Gunther, born in 1926, in Remscheid, Germany, had fled to England, and then to America with his parents in 1939. He was a sergeant in the US Army during the war, from 1944-1946. The couple had a son. Anneliese pursued a career in public relations and was a corporate management consultant. Her mother Recha, 79, passed away on June 22, 1970. Her father James, 87, died on January 26, 1976.
Archival History
The playing card set was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Anneliese Marx.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Anneliese C. Marx
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
Boxed set of Patience playing cards, one red, one blue, brought with 8 year old Anneliese Centawer when she and her parents James and Recha fled Nazi Germany in July 1938. The ace of hearts in each deck is stamped with a government control stamp with the Nazi eagle. After the Nazi regime's seizure of power in 1933, the Jewish population was persecuted with increasingly severity. In 1936, Anneliese's family was forced to move from their home in Nuremberg when their block was declared Judenfrei (Free of Jews.) Anneliese was beaten up on the street by a Hitler Youth who accused the freckled, red haired girl of trying to pass for German. In July 1938, with sponsorship from Recha's half-siblings in the US, the family reached New York.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
a. Rectangular, cardboard roll end tray box covered with treated, dark brown, wood patterned paper with an embossed logo with gold ink remnants on the lid and manufacturer's information on the lid interior. The hinge is made from 2 horizontal cardboard strips covered with white paper. The base interior has a notched partition panel for 2 decks of cards. The box has a detached lower front panel (3.875x.500). b. Small, rectangular, straight tuck end white paper box with a dark blue Art Deco design printed on the front and back and German text on the front and sides. c-bd. Deck of 54 undersize, laminated, standard playing cards in 4 suits: 13 red hearts, 13 red diamonds, 13 black clovers, 13 black spades, 1 Joker, and 1 blank card. Each number card has the number in the top left and bottom right corners with the suit symbol below and the corresponding number of symbols in the center. The face cards are in colorful, medieval costumes. The Jack card has a man in a cape and a B, for Bube, German for Jack; the Queen card has a woman with a flower and a D, Dame [Queen]; the King card has a crowned man and a K for Konig [King.] c-o. Red heart suit of 13 cards: 10 number and 3 face cards. 6c., the Ace card, has a black Nazi regime stamp with an eagle clutching an enwreathed swastika. 6i. has the ASS logo: ASS above a black heart in an inverted triangle within a circle. c-l. A-10 hearts; m. Jack; n. Queen; o. King p-ab. Black spade suit of 13 cards: 10 number and 3 face cards: p-y. A-10 spades; z. Jack; aa. Queen; ab. King. ac-ao. Red diamond suit of 13 cards: 10 number and 3 face cards: ac-al. A-10 diamonds; am. Jack; an. Queen; ao. King. ap-bb. Black clover suit of 13 cards: 10 number and 3 face cards: ap-ay. A-10 clovers; az. Jack; ba. Queen; bb. King. bc. Joker card, with a 5 point star in the top left and bottom right corners after the vertical word JOKER. It has an image of a man in yellow with a blue cape and a mandolin. bd. Blank card. be. Small, rectangular, straight tuck end white paper card box with a red Art Deco design printed on the front and back and German text on the front and sides. bf-dg. Deck of 54 undersize, laminated, playing cards in 4 suits: 13 red hearts, 13 red diamonds, 13 black clovers, 13 black spades, 1 Joker, and 1 blank card. The design is as described for blue deck, c-bd. bf-br. Red heart suit of 13 cards: 10 number and 3 face cards. 6bf., the Ace card, has a black Nazi government stamp with an eagle clutching an enwreathed swastika. 6bl. has the ASS logo: ASS above a black heart in an inverted triangle within a circle. bf-bo. A-10 hearts; bf. Ace has a government control stamp; bp. Jack; bq. Queen; br. King. bs-ce. Black spade suit of 13 cards: 10 number and 3 face cards: bs-cb. A-10 spades; bc. Jack; bd. Queen; be. King. cf-cr. Red diamond suit of 13 cards: 10 number and 3 face cards: cf-co. A-10 diamonds; cp. Jack; cq. Queen; cr. King. cs-de. Black clover suit of 13 cards: 10 number and 3 face cards: cs-db. A-10 clovers; dc. Jack; dd. Queen; de. King. df. Joker card, with a 5 point star in the top left and bottom right corners after the vertical word JOKER. It has an image of a man in yellow with a blue cape and a mandolin. dg. Blank card.
c. front, stamped, black ink : Deutsches Reich / Nr. 90 bf. front, stamped, black ink : Deutsches Reich / Nr. 90
Subjects
- Emigration and immigration--United States--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Nuremberg--Personal narratives.
- Jewish refugees--United States--Biography.
- Popular culture--Germany--History--20th century.
- Jews--Germany--Nuremberg--Biography.
- Child refugees--United States--Biography.
- Jewish children in the Holocaust--Germany--Nuremberg--Biography.
- Emigration and immigration--Germany--Nuremberg--Biography.
Genre
- Toys
- Object