Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Hand made wooden plaque given to Joe Friedman, a US Army officer and DP camp administrator, by an unknown DP camp resident in appreciation for Friedman's work in saving ca. 240 Jewish children at Kibbutz Nili, a DP camp located at the former Julius Streicher farm. It is carved with the Hashomer Hatzair logo, a wreath with a Star of David enclosing a fleur-de-lis. Hashomer Hatzair was a Zionist youth movement active in organizing unauthorized refugee travel across postwar Europe and illegal emigration to Palestine. Second Lt. Friedman deployed to Europe in 1944. He was attached to the Third Army and became a member of the 91st Evacuation Hospital. In early April 1945, Joe's company was the first to enter Ohrdruf concentration camp, the first camp discovered by US troops. Before the war ended on May 7, Joe volunteered for work in displaced persons camps, eventually becoming the head of Coburg DP camp. He was promoted to Captain and later sent to Ansbach where he was commissioned to oversee all DP camps and German repatriation in American-occupied Bavaria. Joe also worked with the Jewish underground, smuggling Eastern European Jews out of the Russian zone. In early 1946, Joe's activities with the underground were uncovered and he had to return to the US.
- Date
-
received:
1946
- Geography
-
creation:
Kibbutz Nili;
Pleikersdorf (Germany)
received: Kibbutz Nili; Pleikersdorf (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Joe Friedman
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Joe Friedman
- Biography
-
Joe Friedman (1920- ) was born in St. Joseph, MO. He joined the Army in 1942, was assigned to the Medical Administrative Corps, and landed at Le Havre in December 1944. His unit fought in the Battle of Bastogne and participated in the liberation Ohrdruf. After the German capitulation, Friedman volunteered to remain in Europe to work with displaced persons. He received training at Bamberg, spent two weeks at Wildflecken, and then was sent to Coburg where he witnessed the Soviet forced repatriation of eastern European displaced persons through Lichtenfels. He was then sent to Ansbach and put in charge of several DP camps and the exchange point at Hof. He worked discreetly with the Jewish underground to bring eastern European Jews into the American zone until he was caught and sent home. He worked first as a podiatrist before changing careers, becoming an actor, and adopting Joel Frederick as his stage name.
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Decorative Arts
- Category
-
Carving (Decorative arts)
- Object Type
-
Wood-carving (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Hand carved wooden plaque with an open topped wreath with a ribbon at the bottom, enclosing a Star of David with a fleur-de-lis in the center.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 9.375 inches (23.813 cm) | Width: 5.625 inches (14.288 cm) | Depth: 1.140 inches (2.896 cm)
- Materials
- overall : wood, graphite
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Forced repatriation--Biography. Jewish refugees--Germany. Jewish soldiers--United States--Biography. Refugee camps--Germany--Administration--Biography. Soldiers--United States--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation--Germany--Personal narratives, American. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
- Corporate Name
- United States. Army. Army, 3rd
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The plaque was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1996 by Joe Friedman.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-23 11:21:21
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn11629
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Also in Joe Friedman collection
The collection consists of a cane, patch, a woodcut, military records, occupation, military, and displaced persons camp life materials, photographs, and printed materials relating to the experiences of Joe Friedman and his work with displaced persons for the Third Army and Military Government and Holocaust memorial events held between 1978 and 1982.
Date: 1945-1982
Joe Friedman papers
Document
The Joe Friedman papers consist of military records; occupation, military, and displaced persons camp life materials; photographs; and printed materials documenting Joe Friedman’s work with displaced persons for the Third Army and Military Government, life as part of the occupation force and in the displaced persons camps, the repatriation displaced persons, and Holocaust memorial events held between 1978 and 1982. Military records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, bulletins, and authorizations documenting Friedman’s work with displaced persons for the Third Army and Military Government. They include records documenting Friedman’s work as a supply officer for the Coburg displaced persons camp, a German truck battalion composed of members of a surrendered Panzer division, payments for disarmed German forces working for the allies, communications from Third Army headquarters, and Friedman’s military commendations. Additional records documenting occupation, military, and displaced persons camp life include the notebook Friedman used to record notes about supplies and tasks, lists of hospital medical personnel and Polish officers, a patch labeled “DPTA 10 Staff Officer Poland Camp Administration,” a supplement to a German shopkeeper’s denazification questionnaire, and a humorous memorandum guiding the behavior of American soldiers returning home. Photographs primarily date from approximately 1945‐1946 and depict Friedman; the displaced persons camps at Bamberg and Coburg; children, sports, entertainment, supplies, hospitals and a wedding at the camps; UNRRA, Russian, and French personnel; Russian facilitation of the repatriation of eastern European displaced persons through Lichtenfels; and members of the Palestinian Brigade of North Africa. They are accompanied by pages of description provided by Friedman and are arranged according to those page numbers. An additional photograph depicts Joe Friedman and other liberators at a Holocaust remembrance event in 1982. Printed materials include a handout from the International Military Tribunal, a map tracing the Third U.S. Army’s actions during World War II, a U.S. Army publication about Nazi history, and a Chicago Sun supplement containing World War II maps, dated 1945‐1947, and correspondence, programs, and clippings documenting Holocaust memorial events and Friedman’s participation in some of them, dated 1978‐1982.
Carved inscribed walking stick given to an American soldier
Object
Cane carved for Lt. Joe Friedman, United States Army, as a gift by Major Macleah. It had formerly belonged to a German soldier. Friedman deployed to Europe in 1944. He was attached to the Third Army and became a member of the 91st Evacuation Hospital. In early April 1945, Joe's company was the first to enter Ohrdruf concentration camp, the first camp discovered by US troops. Before the war ended on May 7, Joe volunteered for work in displaced persons camps, eventually becoming the head of Coburg DP camp. He was promoted to Captain and later sent to Ansbach where he was commissioned to oversee all DP camps and German repatriation in American-occupied Bavaria. Joe also worked with the Jewish underground, smuggling Eastern European Jews out of the Russian zone. In early 1946, Joe's activities with the underground were uncovered and he had to return to the US.
