Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Pin found by 14 year old Diane Keeley and her siblings in the home in Nuremburg, Germany, where her family lived from 1949-1953. The home had been expropriated from a German man suspected of being a Nazi by the United States Army for use by its personnel. Diane's father was an American civilian employee sent to Germany in January 1946 as part of the army of occupation. The children had been told to never go to the basement and disturb the previous occupant's belongings. However, one day, the girls decided to explore the area and they took some items as souvenirs.
- Date
-
found:
1949-1953
- Geography
-
found:
Nuremberg (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Diane Keeley
- Markings
- front perimeter: EIN VOLK (SWASTIKA) EIN REICH (SWASTIKA) EIN FUHRER (SWASTIKA) [ONE PEOPLE - ONE COUNTRY - ONE LEADER]
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Diane Keeley
- Biography
-
Diane Keeley was the daughter of James E. Keeley Sr., one of the first American civilian employees stationed in Germany, in January 1946, as part of the United States Army of occupation. The rest of the family, Diane, her mother, older brother, and two younger sisters, followed in June 1949 and lived first in Bad Neuheim and then Nuremberg. They lived in a large home of 26 rooms at 169 Am Maxfield Strasse near Linde Stadium, which had been expropriated by the US Army. The house was previously owned by Herr Frank, who now lived down the street in a much more humble dwelling. Diane's father repaired the war damage to the house, including bullet holes in the facade and the hole in the roof where a bomb had fallen during the siege of Nuremberg. Diane's mother invited Herr and Frau Frank to the home and invited them to take what they wanted from the fruit trees in the yard. According to the maid, Herr Frank was a Nazi and had coordinated Nazi activities in the neighborhood during the war. The Keeley children were taught to respect the Frank home and never to go down to the basement and disturb Herr Frank’s things. Diane's family returned to the United States in January 1953. She later became a history teacher.
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Jewelry
- Category
-
Pins (Jewelry)
- Object Type
-
Lapel pins (aat)
- Physical Description
- Round, metal pin with a relief image of Adolf Hitler in left profile. There is text along the perimeter with a swastika between each word. The fastening pin is attached to the disc by a metal flap.
- Dimensions
- overall: | Diameter: 1.120 inches (2.845 cm)
- Materials
- overall : metal
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Geographic Name
- Germany--History--1933-1945.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The Hitler lapel pin was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Diane Keeley.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-31 10:43:58
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn34882
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Also in Diane Keeley collection
The collection consists of artifacts and published materials relating to the experience of Diane Keeley in Germanywith the US occupation forces after World War II.
Date: 1949-1953
20 Reichsmark banknote found during postwar reconstruction
Object
Banknote found by 14 year old Diane Keeley and her siblings in the home in Nuremburg, Germany, where her family lived from 1949-1953. The home had been expropriated from a German man suspected of being a Nazi by the United States Army for use by its personnel. Diane's father was an American civilian employee sent to Germany in January 1946 as part of the army of occupation. The children had been told to never go to the basement and disturb the previous occupant's belongings. However, one day, the girls decided to explore the area and they took some items as souvenirs.
Miniature "button book" issued for charitable contributions by the Zweites Kriegshilfswerk für das Deutsche rote Kreuz
Object
Miniature "button book" printed by the Nazi German government and given as a token gift to those who had donated to the Zweites Kriegshilfswerk für das deutsche rote Kreuz. The booklet could be worn on coat buttons as a sign that the wearer had donated to the charity. Found by the donor and her siblings, circa 1950, while they were billeted in the home of a German family when her father was stationed in Germany with the US Army following WWII.
Miniature "button book" issued for charitable contributions by the Zweites Kriegscilfswerk fur das Deutsche Rote Kreuz
Object
Miniature "button book" printed by the Nazi German government and given as a token gift to those who had donated to the Zweites Kriegshilfswerk für das deutsche rote Kreuz. The booklet could be worn on coat buttons as a sign that the wearer had donated to the charity. Found by the donor and her siblings, circa 1950, while they were billeted in the home of a German family when her father was stationed in Germany with the US Army following WWII.
Miniature "button book" issued for charitable contributions by the Zweites Kriegshilfswerk für das deutsche rote Kreuz
Object
Miniature "button book" printed by the Nazi German government and given as a token gift to those who had donated to the Zweites Kriegshilfswerk für das deutsche rote Kreuz. The booklet could be worn on coat buttons as a sign that the wearer had donated to the charity. Found by the donor and her siblings, circa 1950, while they were billeted in the home of a German family when her father was stationed in Germany with the US Army following WWII.
Miniature "button book" issued for charitable contributions by the Zweites Kriegshilfswerk für das Deutsche Rote Kreuz
Object
Miniature "button book" printed by the Nazi German government and given as a token gift to those who had donated to the Zweites Kriegshilfswerk für das Deutsche Rote Kreuz. The booklet could be worn on coat buttons as a sign that the wearer had donated to the charity. Found by the donor and her siblings, circa 1950, while they were billeted in the home of a German family when her father was stationed in Germany with the US Army following WWII.
Miniature "button book" issued for charitable contributions by the Winter-hilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes
Object
Miniature "button book" printed by the Nazi German government and given as a token gift to those who had donated to the Winter-hilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes. The booklet could be worn on coat buttons as a sign that the wearer had donated to the charity. Found by the donor and her siblings, circa 1950, while they were billeted in the home of a German family when her father was stationed in Germany with the US Army following WWII.
Miniature "button book" issued for charitable contributions by the Winter-hilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes
Object
Miniature "button book" printed by the Nazi German government and given as a token gift to those who had donated to the Winter-hilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes. The booklet could be worn on coat buttons as a sign that the wearer had donated to the charity. Found by the donor and her siblings, circa 1950, while they were billeted in the home of a German family when her father was stationed in Germany with the US Army following WWII.