Schermeister girls play in the yard
The three Schermeister girls, Lis (donor's mother; eldest of the three), Jeanne, and Inge play with their parents, Edith and Bernhard, in the yard at their vacation home in Snekkersten. The girls are a few years older now.
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Record last modified: 2022-07-28 21:56:16
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Also in Schermeister Family Collection
Dov Kischinovsky authorized USHMM to copy his grandmother’s 9.5mm black and white films showing the Schermeister family at their vacation home in Snekkersten, Denmark in the 1920s and 1930s. Scenes include the donor’s mother, Lis Kischinovsky (nee Schermeister), and aunt swimming and playing with their relatives, and the family participating in a Havdalah ceremony. The family was smuggled out of Denmark to Sweden in 1943. The day after they arrived in Sweden, Lis's father Bernhard, a milliner who is seen frequently in the film footage, committed suicide. The Schermeister family remained in Stockholm until 1945, when they returned to Copenhagen. They found their apartment inhabited by other people but a neighbor had stored all of their possessions for them. This acquisition is our first home movie collection featuring Danish Jews. One videocassette (11 minutes)
Schermeister family vacationing in Snekkersten, 1929
Film
An indoor shot of the donor's great grandparents, Leopold and Franzisca Cohen. They exit the door to their vacation home in Snekkersten, along with Bernhard (donor's grandfather) and his sister. The extended family on the lawn. The three girls, Lis (donor's mother), Jeanne, and Inge, eat ice cream with Bernhard's mother (Hana Schermeister). Various family members pose for the camera.
City street scenes
Film
Very dark interior shots followed by a brief scene at the beach at Snekkersten and then street scenes in Elsinore (Helsingør), Denmark. "Spredte Traeck fra Fam. Schermeisters. Tilvaereise." [Small Notes from the Schermeister Family. Life.] The street scenes show quick cuts of alleys, people in the street on bicycles, shops, a newspaper headline announcing Von Papen as vice chancellor, and the exterior of the Hotel Øresund.
Schermeister family in prewar Denmark
Film
Schermeister family in Denmark before WWII, walking in and out of the door to their small wooden vacation home in Snekkersten. A mezuzah is affixed to the doorway. The donor's great-grandmother, Franzisca Josies Cohen, wearing a large striped scarf. Her daughter Ida, a professional violinist, plays the violin. The other woman in a trenchcoat in front of the house is Asta Cohen, another daughter. [Another daughter not seen here is Edith, the donor's grandmother.] The donor's great-grandfather, Leopold Cohen, pretends to shoot Ida with a shotgun while she plays the violin. Leopold and his wife Franzisca play act for the camera and laugh.
Schermeister family on vacation in the summer of 1928
Film
The donor's grandfather, Bernhard Schermeister, his wife, Edith Cohen Schermeister, and two of their three daughters get into a car outside of a home in Denmark. The oldest daughter is Lis, the donor's mother. Bernhard's mother, Hana Schermeister, is also in the car. A brief shot of the family outside the house. Bernhard holds a portrait of his three daughters. Bernhard, now alone in the car, pulls up to a house and escorts his mother from the house to the car.
Schermeister girls at the beach, 1928
Film
Lis (the donor's mother, age 6) and her sister Jeanne (age 5) take off their shoes and wade in the water at the beach. Their parents (Bernhard and Edith Cohen Schermeister) are also in the scene. Nice CUs of the two girls.
Schermeister girls play in the garden, 1928
Film
All three Schermeister girls play on the lawn of their vacation home in Snekkersten. The two older girls, Lis (donor's mother) and Jeanne, carry parasols and the youngest, Inge (age 3), rides in and pushes a baby carriage. Their mother and father (Edith Cohen Schermeister and Bernhard Schermeister) play with them.
Havdalah ceremony
Film
Havdalah ceremony in the garden in Snekkersten (despite the fact that it is still daylight at night in the summer in Denmark). Present are: Edith and Bernhard Schermeister (donor's grandparents), Edith's mother, father, and sister, Edith and Bernhard's three daughters (Lis, the oldest girl, is the donor's mother), and Bernhard's mother, Hana Schermeister. Edith lights the candle and Bernhard pours the wine. CU of Hana Schermeister.
Schermeister girls in the garden, 1929
Film
In the garden in Snekkersten. The three Schermeister girls, Lis (donor's mother), Jeanne, and Inge, return from a trip with their governess, wearing the same dresses as the Havdalah sequence, and big summer hats. All three girls jump rope with the help of their mother and their governess.
Lis Schermeister swimming at the sea
Film
Lis (donor's mother and eldest of the three girls) in a sweater and swim cap at the beach with her father, Bernhard Schermeister.
Bernhard clowns around, 1929
Film
The donor's grandfather, Bernhard Schermeister, in a false beard and dark glasses, clowns around with his wife, Edith, in the yard of their vacation home in Snekkersten. He presents her with various gifts, including a bouquet of flowers and dolls, while she feigns disinterest.
