Brown strap wrist watch worn postwar by a former labor camp inmate and aid worker
- Date
-
received:
approximately 1945 July
- Geography
-
use:
Vienna (Austria)
- Language
-
French
- Classification
-
Personal Equipment and Supplies
- Category
-
Timepieces
- Object Type
-
Wrist watches (lcsh)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of George Birman
Dark brown leather wrist watch worn by Hirsch Birman after the war as a refugee in Vienna, Austria. Hirsch and his father Abel lived in Kovno, (Kaunas) Lithuania, which was occupied by Germany on June 22, 1941. They fled, but were caught and brought back. On August 15, they were forced into a sealed ghetto. Hirsch was sent to Kedahnen concentration/labor camp in September, and Abel arrived in spring 1943. When the camp was being evacuated on July 9, 1944, due to approaching Soviet forces, they escaped through holes that Hirsch cut with pliers in the barbed wire fences. They hid in the forest until told by local farmers that it was safe to come out. They returned to Kovno but conditions were very bad and they decided to leave even though they had no permits. The war ended on May 7, 1945, and they arrived in Vienna, Austria, in September. From 1945-1948, Hirsch lived in displaced persons camps and worked for Bricha, a group that organized the illegal immigration of Jews to Palestine. He and Abel emigrated to the United States in 1952.
-
Record last modified: 2021-02-10 08:52:40
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn13555
Also in George Birman collection
The collection consists of a belt, hunting knife, pliers, wristwatch, agenda planners, documents, and photographic materials relating to the experiences of George Birman and his father Abel before World War II in Lithuania, during the war when they were interned in Kovno (Kaunas) ghetto and Kedahnen (Kedainiai) labor camp, and after the war as displaced persons, including George's postwar education and work with displaced persons in Vienna, Austria.
George Birman papers
Document
The George Birman papers consist of an admission ticket to the International Military Tribunal, eight pocket size daily agenda planners, biographical materials, photographic materials, and printed materials documenting George Birman’s childhood in Lithuania, his confinement with his father, Abel Birman, in the Kovno (Kaunas) ghetto, his work at the Kedahnen (Kedainiai) labor camp, and his postwar education and work with displaced persons in Vienna. The admission ticket permitted entrance to the visitor’s gallery of the International Military Tribunal during session 116. Eight pocket size daily agenda planners include daily and weekly notes about George Birman’s postwar activities in Europe from April 1945 through January 1953. Biographical materials include identification papers, citizenship records, certificates, and employment records documenting Abel and George Birman’s wartime and postwar activities in Lithuania and Austria and student and medical records related to George Birman. This series also includes two Polish Red Cross registration certificates for Cwi Egosz, Aba Gachelet, Margo Bartos, Moses Joffe, Chana Tehora, Jofi Lechuchot, Cwi Chotil, Kosrona Lanegen Leli Lanegen, and Techoh Jericho. Photographic materials include four albums, six folders of loose photographs, and a box of negatives. The photo albums contain photographs dating from 1930 through 1950 depicting George Birman, his family, and his friends in prewar Lithuania and postwar Austria, Italy, Lithuania, Germany, Palestine, and France. Loose photographs date from 1931‐1954 and are minimally identified. They depict George and Abel Birman, friends, students, and children in Lithuania, Austria, and France. Photographs include portraits, school rooms, demonstrations, meetings, street scenes, the Rupertusplatz displaced persons camp, and the Gargzdai shtetl. The box of negatives corresponds to photo album 3. Printed materials include clippings, postcards depicting the MS General C.H. Muir, and a commemorative booklet about the Kaunas ghetto.
Hunting knife with leather sheath used by Lithuanian labor camp inmate
Object
Survival knife with a leather sheath worn by Hirsch Birman, who called it a Boy Scout knife, following his escape from Kedhanen concentration/labor camp in July 1944. Hirsch and his father Abel lived in Kovno, (Kaunas) Lithuania, which was occupied by Germany on June 22, 1941. They fled, but were caught and brought back. On August 15, they were forced into a sealed ghetto. Hirsch was sent to Kedahnen concentration/labor camp in September, and Abel arrived in spring 1943. When the camp was being evacuated on July 9, 1944, due to approaching Soviet forces, they escaped through holes that Hirsch cut with pliers in the barbed wire fences. They hid in the forest until told by local farmers that it was safe to come out. They returned to Kovno but conditions were very bad and they decided to leave even though they had no permits. The war ended on May 7, 1945, and they arrived in Vienna, Austria, in September. From 1945-1948, Hirsch lived in displaced persons camps and worked for Bricha, a group that organized the illegal immigration of Jews to Palestine. He and Abel emigrated to the United States in 1952.
Leather belt with 2 sets of holes worn postwar by Lithuanian labor camp inmate / aid worker
Object
Leather belt worn by 22 year old Hirsch Birman following his escape from Kedhanen labor camp in 1944. Hirsch was living in Kovno, (Kaunas) Lithuania, with his father Abel, when Germany occupied the city on June 22, 1941. On August 15, they were forced into a sealed ghetto. Hirsch was sent to labor camp Kedahnen in September 1942, and Abel arrived in spring 1943. During the camp's evacuation on July 9, 1944, due to approaching Russian forces, they escaped through holes that Hirsch cut with pliers in the barbed wire fences. They hid in the forest until local farmers told them it was safe to come out. They returned to Kovno, but conditions were very bad and they decided to leave. The war ended on May 7, 1945, and they were in Vienna, Austria, by September. From 1945-1948, Hirsch worked for Bricha (Berihah), a group that organized the illegal immigration of Jews to Palestine, registering refugees at the Rothschild Hospital for displaced persons. He and Abel emigrated to the United States in 1952.
Pliers used by Lithuanian labor camp inmate to escape
Object
Cutting combination pliers used by 22 year old Hirsch Birman to escape the German labor camp, Kedahnen on July 9, 1944. Hirsch was living in Kovno, (Kaunas) Lithuania, with his father Abel, when Germany occupied the city on June 22, 1941. On August 15, they were forced into a sealed ghetto. Hirsch was sent to labor camp Kedahnen in September 1942, and Abel arrived in spring 1943. During the camp's evacuation on July 9, 1944, due to approaching Russian forces, they escaped through holes that Hirsch cut with pliers in the barbed wire fences. They hid in the forest until local farmers told them it was safe to come out. They returned to Kovno, but conditions were very bad and they decided to leave. The war ended on May 7, 1945, and they were in Vienna, Austria, by September. From 1945-1948, Hirsch worked for Bricha (Berihah), a group that organized the illegal immigration of Jews to Palestine, registering refugees at the Rothschild Hospital for displaced persons. He and Abel emigrated to the United States in 1952.