Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Watch fob that belonged to Eliazer Davids and previously to his father, Leman Davids. A watch fob was used to retrieve a pocket watch from a vest or waist pocket. They were common before wristwatches were introduced in the early 20th century. The Davids were an observant Jewish family who had lived in Amsterdam, Netherlands, for several generations. Leman was a diamond broker and cutter who died of natural causes in 1930. Eliazer ran a linen business. In December 1938, Eliazer and his wife, Bronislawa Perlberg, emigrated to the United States with the assistance of Eliazer’s uncle, Leo Groen, who lived in New York and submitted affidavits of support for their visas. The majority of Eliazer’s and Bronislawa’s family members who remained in Europe perished during the Holocaust.
- Date
-
creation:
1893
emigration: 1938 December
- Geography
-
creation:
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Blanche Davids Gewirtz
- Markings
- etched on first link of chain : ELECTRO
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Eliazer Davids
- Biography
-
Eliazer (Elie) Davids was born on March 27, 1904, in Amsterdam, Netherlands to an observant Jewish family, which had lived in Amsterdam for over seven generations. His parents were Leman Davids (10/7/1869-11/14/1930), born in Amsterdam to Eliazer Davids and Schoontje de Klerk and Branca Groen, (12/29/1870-1/6/1940), born in Amsterdam to Mozes Nathan Groen and Esther Snoek. Eliazer had a brother, Mozes, born on December 24, 1907, and two sisters, Elly and Leah. Leman was a diamond broker and cutter. When Eliazer was in his twenties, he joined his paternal uncle, Louis (1877-1930) in his linen business which operated in Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as the Netherlands. After his uncle’s death in 1930, he ran the business on his own and also supported his aunt. In 1934, Eliazer married Bronislawa (Bertha) Perlberg, the daughter of Eliasz Perlberg and Amalia Kaufmann, orthodox Jews who had emigrated from Poland when Bertha wa a young child. She had as brother born in 1930. In December 1938, Eliazer and Bronislawa were able to leave for the United States with the assistance of Eliazer’s maternal uncle, Leo Groen, who had lived in New York since the 1890s. He submitted affidavits of support for their visas, as well as many other members of the family, but only Eliazer and Bertha’s paperwork would get processed in time for them to leave before the German occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940. The majority of both the Davids and Perlberg families who remained in Europe perished during the Holocaust.
Eliazer and Bertha had a son born on July 27, 1938, and a daughter, born in 1942. Eliazer worked for the Office of War Information, and later the State Department Office of Information and Cultural Affairs. Eliazer died in 1990, age 86; Bertha passed away in 2007, age 94.
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Classification
-
Personal Equipment and Supplies
- Category
-
Timepieces
- Object Type
-
Watch fobs (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Two black ribbons attached at each end by a gold-colored metal rectangular cap, with a moveable metal loop around the ribbons. There is a small ring attached to one end cap, with a gold colored chain extending from the ring and around the metal clasp at the end.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 5.125 inches (13.018 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
- Materials
- overall : metal, cloth
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The watch fob was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2008 by Blanch Davids Gewirtz, the daughter of Eliazer Davids.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-31 10:16:13
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn38222
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Also in Bertha and Eliazer Davids family collection
The collection consists of artifacts, correspondence, documents, and photographs related to the extended families of Bertha Kaufman Davids and Eliazer Davids in the Netherlands, Poland, and the United States before and during the Holocaust.
Date: before 1938-1943
Plaque celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Ashkenazi community in Amsterdam
Object
Commemorative plaque owned by Eliazer Davids that celebrates the 300th anniversary of the Ashkenazi community in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The service, attended by Eliazer, was held in the Main Synagogue which was built in 1871. Eliazer was from an observant Jewish family who had lived in Amsterdam, Netherlands, for several generations. Many were diamond brokers and cutters. In December 1938, Eliazer and his wife, Bronislawa (Bertha) Perlberg, left for the United States with the assistance of Eliazer’s uncle, Leo Groen, who lived in New York and submitted affidavits of support for their visas. The majority of Eliazer’s and Bronislawa’s family members were not able to get out of Europe and perished during the Holocaust.
Blanche Davids Gewirtz papers
Document
Photographs, legal documents, and correspondence from donor's paternal uncle, Leo Davids, who immigrated to the United States and facilitated the donor's parents immigration to the US in 1938. Includes a second group of materials consisting of photos and papers belonging to donor's mother's grandmother Fanny Kaufman, and her parents Bernard and Pauline Fischer. A majority of the donor's extended family on both sides perished in the Auschwitz and Sobibor concentration camps in 1942 and 1943.
Handbook
Object
Prayer book
Object
