Archival Descriptions

Advanced query tips

There are several ways to be more specific in your search query:

"Phrase"
Search an exact match of your query, e.g. "Member lists"
+Phrase
Given word has to be in the result, e.g. +Gestapo
-Phrase
Exclude given word from search, e.g. -Gestapo

Use the following syntax to restrict the search to specific fields:

field:"phrase"
For instance, you can find all descriptions that have the phrase "Auschwitz Birkenau" in their titles by searching for title:"Auschwitz Birkenau".

The following fields are currently available:

  • identifier
  • title
  • creator
  • person
  • place
  • subject
  • address
Displaying items 6,461 to 6,480 of 6,679
Search result ordering
Holding Institution: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

  1. Embroidered dress worn by a Polish Jewish girl in hiding

    1. Lola and Walter Kaufman collection

    Embroidered dress made for Lola Rein by her mother Dvoire in the ghetto and worn while she was in hiding near Czortkow, Poland, from approximately May 1943 to March 1944. In September 1939, the Soviet Union occupied Czortkow. Germany invaded in June 1941. Lola’s father Yidl died in the ghetto in 1942. On March 21, 1943, her mother was shot and killed while going to work. In May, Lola’s maternal grandmother Ekka sent Lola to hide with a Ukrainian woman. In August, the woman’s son-in-law threatened to turn Lola in to the Gestapo, so she took Lola to her sister’s farm. Lola and three other Jew...

  2. Concentration camp uniform jacket worn by a Polish Jewish inmate

    1. Helen and William Luksenburg collection

    Blue and gray striped winter weight jacket issued to Welek Luksenburg, 21, in Oranienburg concentration camp in January 1945, and also worn in Flossenbürg and Regensburg concentration camps. It is worn through at the neck from the pressure of the ropes used to haul rocks as a slave laborer. In April 1945, Welek collapsed during a death march and was rescued by a German farmer. As American troops moved through the area, a soldier approached Welek with a razor saying, "A souvenir" and removed his Star of David and prisoner number 187295 patch. A red triangle was also removed. The soldiers too...

  3. Childsize violin and case of a young Jewish Lithuanian boy killed in the Ponary massacre

    1. Anna (Golden) Gordon family collection
    • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    • irn518255
    • English
    • 1936-1943
    • a: Height: 19.250 inches (48.895 cm) | Width: 6.875 inches (17.463 cm) | Depth: 3.250 inches (8.255 cm) b: Height: 26.250 inches (66.675 cm) | Width: 8.500 inches (21.59 cm) | Depth: 4.125 inches (10.478 cm)

    Childsize violin and case that belonged to 13 year old Boruch Golden, who was killed in the massacres at Ponary in September 1943. Baruch began playing the violin when he was 6 years old. It was saved by his sister, Niusia (Anna), who survived the war in hiding. Following the invasion of Soviet territory by Germany in spring 1941, the Golden family, the parents, Moshe and Basia, and 4 children: Niusia, Riva, Boruch, and Tevya, were forced into the Swieciany (Svencionys) ghetto in Lithuania. When it was liquidated by the Germans in April 1943, the family was separated. Niusia refused to get ...

  4. Liebschütz and Rozsa families papers

    1. Liebschütz and Rozsa family collection

    The Liebschütz and Rozsa families papers consist of correspondence, biographical material, professional material, photographs, and diaries as well as restitution, education, and immigration material relating to the families of Elise (Lisa) Rozsa, originally of Brno, Czechoslovakia, and her husband, Imre Rozsa, originally of Hungary, both of whom fled Europe during the Holocaust and lived in exile in Iraq, Palestine, Uganda, and Kenya. The collection also includes the memoir of Lisa Rozsa’s mother, Selma Liebschütz, describing her family’s experiences during the Holocaust, including imprison...

  5. Violin, bows, case and accessories recovered from Łódź ghetto and played in DP camps by a Polish Jewish musician

    1. Henry Baigelman collection
    • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    • irn43164
    • English
    • a: Height: 23.125 inches (58.738 cm) | Width: 7.875 inches (20.003 cm) | Depth: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm) b: Height: 4.500 inches (11.43 cm) | Width: 31.125 inches (79.058 cm) | Depth: 10.125 inches (25.718 cm) c: Height: 29.125 inches (73.978 cm) | Width: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Depth: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) d: Height: 29.375 inches (74.613 cm) | Width: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Depth: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) e: Height: 28.125 inches (71.438 cm) | Width: 11.500 inches (29.21 cm) f: Height: 15.125 inches (38.418 cm) | Width: 12.375 inches (31.433 cm) g: Height: 18.250 inches (46.355 cm) | Width: 9.750 inches (24.765 cm) h: Height: 18.375 inches (46.673 cm) | Width: 18.750 inches (47.625 cm) i: Height: 6.625 inches (16.828 cm) | Width: 3.625 inches (9.208 cm) | Depth: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) j: Height: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Width: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) k: Height: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Width: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) l: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) m: Height: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Width: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) n: Height: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Width: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Depth: 0.060 inches (0.152 cm) o: Height: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Width: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Depth: 0.060 inches (0.152 cm) p: Height: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm) | Width: 5.125 inches (13.018 cm) | Depth: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) q: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Depth: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) r1: Height: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Width: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) r2: Height: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) | Width: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm) s: Height: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Width: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) t: Height: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Width: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm) u: Height: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm) | Width: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm)

    Violin, bows, case, and parts recovered from the Łódź ghetto in Poland and played by Henry Baigelman after the war. The instruments were hidden in an attic by Henry's brother David in the summer of 1944 after they learned that the Germans were going to destroy the ghetto. They were recovered by his brother-in-law after the city was liberated by the Soviets in January 1945. Two violins were recovered: this one and 2010.472.2; one was played by Henry in the ghetto; the other originally belonged to Henry's cousin. Henry was a professional musician in Łódź when Germany occupied Poland on Septem...

  6. Violin, bows, case and accessories recovered from Łódź ghetto and played in DP camps by a Polish Jewish musician

    1. Henry Baigelman collection
    • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    • irn43165
    • English
    • a: Height: 23.500 inches (59.69 cm) | Width: 8.000 inches (20.32 cm) | Depth: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) b: Height: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm) | Width: 30.500 inches (77.47 cm) | Depth: 9.875 inches (25.083 cm) c: Height: 25.000 inches (63.5 cm) | Width: 9.125 inches (23.178 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm) d: Height: 29.500 inches (74.93 cm) | Width: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Depth: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) e: Height: 29.125 inches (73.978 cm) | Width: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Depth: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) f: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) g: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) h: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) i: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) j1: Height: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm) | Width: 5.500 inches (13.97 cm) | Depth: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) j2: Height: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) | Width: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Depth: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) j3: Height: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Width: 1.875 inches (4.763 cm) | Depth: 1.875 inches (4.763 cm) k1: Height: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Width: 2.250 inches (5.715 cm) | Depth: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) k2: Height: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Width: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Depth: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) k3: Height: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Width: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Depth: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) l: Height: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) | Width: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm) m: Height: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Width: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) n: Height: 3.125 inches (7.938 cm) | Width: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm) o: Height: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) | Width: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) p: Height: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Width: 1.875 inches (4.763 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm) q: Height: 3.750 inches (9.525 cm) | Width: 3.375 inches (8.573 cm) | Depth: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) r: Height: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Width: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm) s: Height: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Width: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) t: Height: 3.125 inches (7.938 cm) | Width: 2.375 inches (6.033 cm)

    Violin, case, and parts recovered from the Łódź ghetto in Poland and played by Henry Baigelman after the war. The instruments were hidden in an attic by Henry's brother David in the summer of 1944 after they learned that the Germans were going to destroy the ghetto. They were recovered by his brother-in-law after the city was liberated by the Soviets in January 1945. Two violins were recovered: this one and 2010.472.2; one was played by Henry in the ghetto; the other originally belonged to Henry's cousin. Henry was a professional musician in Łódź when Germany occupied Poland on September 1,...

  7. Felix and Flory Van Beek collection

    1. Felix and Flory Van Beek collection

    The Felix and Flory Van Beek papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, diaries, a personal narrative, photographs, and printed materials documenting a German-Dutch couple, their thwarted efforts to escape Europe on the SS Simon Bolivar, their survival in hiding with two separate Dutch families, their liberation, their immigration to the United States, and the deaths of their family members in the Holocaust. Many documents are accompanied by Flory Van Beek's annotations. Biographical materials primarily document Felix and Flory Van Beek and include certificates, correspondenc...

  8. Burlap covered steamer trunk used by a German Jewish family

    1. Berg and Hermanns families collection

    Steamer trunk labelled Mombasa used by Max and Clara Davids Berg and their extended family when they fled Cologne, Germany, in May/June 1939. The family was warned by neighbors to leave their home in Lechenich prior to the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938. Their homes were vandalized and the family decided to leave Germany. Max's sons, Josef and George, and cousin Ernest fled to the Netherlands. They were arrested, but their uncle, Herman Meyer, hired a lawyer and the men were detained but not deported. This gave the family time to find a country where they could emigrate legally...

  9. Regina and Halina Goldwag papers

    1. Regina and Halina Goldwag collection

    The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of Regina (née Zak) Goldwag and her daughter Halina (later Halina Rosenberg), both of Warsaw, Poland. Both women survived the war under the false identities of Polish non-Jews Jadwiga and Halina Orlowska. Documents of Halina Goldwag include wartime documents under the false identity used while she was a forced-laborer in several concentration camps in Leipzig, immigration papers, and restitution documentation. Photographs include pre-war family photographs of the Zak and Goldwag families, post-war photographs of Halina and Regina in the...

  10. Decorative pin with engraved initials CB made in Kenya for a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany

    1. Werner and Inge Berg Katzenstein family collection

    Handcrafted pin with the initials CB made for Clara Davids Berg, when the extended Berg family was living in Kenya after fleeing Cologne, Germany, in May/June 1939. The family had lived in nearby Lechenich for generations, but under the Nazi dictatorship, which took power in 1933, Jews were made outcasts from German society. The Berg's were warned by neighbors to leave their home prior to the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938. Their houses were vandalized and the family decided to leave Germany. They wanted to stay together as a family and a friend got them permits for British rul...

  11. Regina and Samuel Spiegel papers

    1. Regina and Samuel Spiegel collection

    Contains documents related to the postwar experiences of Sam Spiegel and Regina Gutman in Wolfratshausen, Germany, and their immigration to the United States in 1947. Includes a marriage certificate, an identification card issued to Samuel Spiegel enabling him to ride the Stuttgart tram, and an affidavit statement of support issued by Samuel Kreps supporting their immigration efforts.

  12. Ostwald family collection

    The Ostwald family collection consists of biographical materials, correspondence, diaries and memoirs, photographs, photo albums, and negatives related to the Ostwald family of Dortmund, Germany; the Strauss family; the Tendlau family; and the Weinberg family. The biographical materials series includes genealogy materials, family trees, and research files regarding various branches of the Ostwald family. The file on August Niemeyer (1887-1938), Martin Ostwald’s favorite Latin teacher, includes Niemeyer’s obituary and copy prints of the Dortmund school Martin attended. Materials relating to ...

  13. Felix and Flory Van Beek correspondence

    Collection of documents, correspondence, receipts and papers relating to Holocaust survivors Felix Levi and his wife Flory (later known as Felix and Flory Van Beek) in Rotterdam, Netherlands to friends and family including Felix's brother Hugo and Theo in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and New York; bound in binder; dated 1946-1948; in German, Dutch and English.

  14. Public transport pass and identification tag issued to a Roman Catholic Polish youth

    1. Hermanowski family collection

    Leather tag with an identification card and public transport pass for July 1944, issued to Wojciech Hermanowski. Wojciech was a Roman Catholic boy living with his parents, Jan and Stanislawa, and his older brother, Andrzej, in Warsaw, Poland, when the German army invaded on September 1, 1939. Wojciech was no longer allowed to go to school, so he began attending trade school and took general classes in secret. In February 1943, Andrzej was arrested as part of the underground resistance, and later transported to Auschwitz concentration camp. On August 1, 1944, the city’s underground resistanc...

  15. Envelope fragment with two stamps acquired by a Roman Catholic Polish youth

    1. Hermanowski family collection

    Envelope fragment with two stamps issued in 1943 by the Polish government-in-exile, while based in London, England, and acquired by Wojciech Hermanowski. These are two of the eight second-issue stamps, which were only valid in friendly and neutral nations, such as Great Britain. The stamps helped raise money for the Ministry of Finance, and were used as propaganda to remind the public that the Polish military was still fighting, even while their territory was occupied by Germany. Wojciech was a Roman Catholic boy living with his parents, Jan and Stanislawa, and his older brother, Andrzej, i...

  16. Head tefillin worn by a Polish Jewish man

    1. Edward Smolarz collection

    Head tefillin given to Idek Smolarz, 25, while recovering in a hospital in Wels, Austria, after his liberation on May 5, 1945. Idek received a tefillin set from another patient, a Czech boy who kept the tefillin with him while working for the Germans digging fox holes. In May 1942, Idek and his oldest brother Solomon were sent to Krakow-Kostrze labor camp, and then to Krakow-Płaszów, where they were joined by their father Meyer. Their mother and siblings were rounded up in Skala, Poland. In summer 1943, Meyer died of typhus. In early 1944, Idek and Solomon were sent to Auschwitz I. In March...

  17. Hand tefillin worn by a Polish Jewish man

    1. Edward Smolarz collection

    Hand tefillin given to Idek Smolarz, 25, while recovering in a hospital in Wels, Austria, after his liberation on May 5, 1945. Idek received a tefillin set from another patient, a Czech boy who kept the tefillin with him while working for the Germans digging fox holes. In May 1942, Idek and his oldest brother Solomon were sent to Krakow-Kostrze labor camp, and then to Krakow-Płaszów, where they were joined by their father Meyer. Their mother and siblings were rounded up in Skala, Poland. In summer 1943, Meyer died of typhus. In early 1944, Idek and Solomon were sent to Auschwitz I. In March...

  18. Brown leather belt secretly made by a Polish Jewish concentration camp inmate

    1. Edward Smolarz collection
    • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    • irn7290
    • English
    • a: Height: 9.750 inches (24.765 cm) | Width: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) b: Height: 28.000 inches (71.12 cm) | Width: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm)

    Brown leather belt secretly made and worn by Idek Smolarz, 23, while imprisoned in Auschwitz I concentration camp from January to March 1944. Idek cut two leather straps off a German machine gun stand and his brother Solomon riveted them together to make him a belt. In May 1942, Idek and his oldest brother Solomon were sent to Krakow-Kostrze labor camp, and then to Krakow-Płaszów, where they were joined by their father Meyer. Their mother and siblings were rounded up in Skala, Poland. In summer 1943, Meyer died of typhus. In early 1944, Idek and Solomon were sent to Auschwitz I. In March, t...

  19. Tefillin pair and embroidered pouch brought with a German Jewish refugee

    1. Richard Pfifferling and Ruth Pfifferling Knox family collection
    • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    • irn2965
    • English
    • a: Height: 7.875 inches (20.003 cm) | Width: 7.250 inches (18.415 cm) b: Height: 2.375 inches (6.032 cm) | Width: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Depth: 4.500 inches (11.43 cm) c: Height: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Width: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Depth: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm)

    Set of tefillin and embroided storage pouch brought with Richard Pfifferling when he left Dresden, Germany, for New York in September 1939. Richard received the tefillin, pouch, and other religious items as a gift for his bar mitzvah circa 1927. In 1933, the Nazi regime came to power and enacted laws that persecuted Jews. Richard and his brothers, Otto and Ernst, fled Germany but their parents, Alexander and Auguste, were unable to leave. Richard later served in the US Army during the war. Richard’s parents were deported to Riga, Latvia, in December 1941, and killed in Auschwitz in August 1...

  20. White wool tallit with black stripes brought with a German Jewish refugee

    1. Richard Pfifferling and Ruth Pfifferling Knox family collection

    White wool tallit with black stripes brought with Richard Pfifferling when he left from Dresden, Germany, for New York in September 1939. Richard received the tallit, or prayer shawl, and other religious items as a gift for his bar mitzvah circa 1927. In 1933, the Nazi regime came to power and enacted laws that persecuted Jews. Richard and his brothers, Otto and Ernst, fled Germany but their parents, Alexander and Auguste, were unable to leave. Richard later served in the US Army during the war. Richard’s parents were deported to Riga, Latvia, in December 1941, and killed in Auschwitz in Au...