Overview
- Brief Narrative
- 1939-1945 Star Medal and ribbon awarded to Lilly Feldmann by the British government for her military service in Palestine. In late 1938, 18 year-old Lilly felt forced to leave Vienna, Austria, because of anti-semitism and Nazi fervor. In her diary, she wrote: "It is a curse that I shall miss this home in spite of the fact that it hates and rejects me…I shall cry for you, you stupid, pitiful country.” She escaped to England where she joined the British Army and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service Division.
- Date
-
commemoration:
1939-1945
- Geography
-
issue:
Great Britain
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Dorit B. Whiteman, Ph.D.
- Markings
- a. front, center medallion, embossed around bottom half of border : THE 1939 - 1945 STAR
a. front, center medallion, embossed in center : GRI / VI - Contributor
-
Subject:
Lilly Feldmann
- Biography
-
Lilly Feldmann was born in Vienna, Austria, on June 23, 1920. In 1938, hating and fearing the unrelenting growth of violent persecutions of Jews and Nazism, Lilly escaped to England. In a final diary entry on November 14, 1938, 18 year-old Lilly wrote a farewell to her childhood and her beloved city:
“I am going to leave Vienna shortly. The Vienna I love and will always love although now it rejects me and makes clear to me that it is no longer my hometown. It is a curse that I shall miss this home in spite of the fact that it hates and rejects me. Yes, I want to leave you but only because you no longer want me, Vienna, you poor Vienna, because you don’t know what you are doing. And I see you disintegrate, very clearly, because you want it yourself. I am leaving, it has to be that way, I guess; but I shall cry for you, you stupid, pitiful country. You have allowed yourself to be led around by your nose and now there is no return. I would feel better if I could hate you like all these others, but unfortunately, I cannot - . I now finish this notebook…a reflection of a beautiful and unburdened era.” (translator, unknown USHMM staff)
Soon after arriving in England, Lilly joined the British Armed Services. During World War II, she was promoted to sergeant and was stationed in Palestine and Africa as a member of the Auxiliary Transport Unit. On September 15, 1943, she received citizenship orders for a certification of naturalization in the British Protectorate of Palestine. After the war, she asked the Red Cross for help in locating her mother, born September 15, 1898, whom she had left behind in Vienna. They told her that she had been transported to the Łódź ghetto, then to Auschwitz death camp where she was murdered. On December 30, 1963, the Austrian government issued Lilly a check for $348.64 as compensation for her mother’s death. Lilly never cashed the check. Lilly lived in Israel for 14 years, and then joined her cousins, Charles and Lillian Deutsch, in New York City, NY. Lilly died of cancer in 1964, aged 44, and was buried in Denver, Colorado.
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Classification
-
Military Insignia
- Category
-
Medals
- Object Type
-
Medals, English (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- a. Six-pointed bronze star medal with a circular center on the front embossed with a large, ornate mongram surmounted by the royal crown with the legend embossed around the foot. The reverse is smooth and blank. There is a ring and a suspension ring attached to the top point.
b. Rectangular strip of ribbon with 3 equal stripes: dark blue, red, light blue, to represent the Royal and Merchant Navies, Armies, and Air Forces. - Dimensions
- a: Height: 2.375 inches (6.032 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm)
b: Height: 6.875 inches (17.463 cm) | Width: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) - Materials
- a : metal
b : ribbon
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Military service, Voluntary--Great Britain. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Austria--Personal narratives, Jewish. Women soldiers--Great Britain--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Great Britain.
- Geographic Name
- Great Britain--Armed Forces--Women.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The 1939-1945 Star Medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009 by Dr. Dorit B. Whiteman, who received the medal from Gertrude and Charles Deutsch, Lilly Feldmann's cousins.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 21:51:06
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn41455
Also in Dorit B. Whiteman collection
The collection consists of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Date: 1906-2004
Dorit B. Whiteman papers
Document
The papers contain paper documents and photographs collected by the donor working as clinical and consulting psychologist, and writing and publishing books pertaining to the Holocaust.
War Medal 1939-1945 and ribbon awarded to an Austrian Jewish woman, British Auxiliary Territorial Division
Object
War Medal 1939-1945 awarded to Lilly Feldmann by the British government for her military service during World War II in Africa and Palestine. In late 1938, 18 year-old Lilly felt forced to leave Vienna, Austria, because of anti-semitism and Nazi fervor. In her diary, she wrote: “It is a curse that I shall miss this home in spite of the fact that it hates and rejects me…I shall cry for you, you stupid, pitiful country.” She escaped to England where she joined the British Army and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service Division.
Africa Star Medal and ribbon awarded to an Austrian Jewish woman for service in the British Auxiliary Territorial Division
Object
Africa Star Medal and ribbon awarded to Lilly Feldmann by the British government for military service in North Africa, Abyssinia, Somaliland, Eritrea, Sudan, and Malta between June 10, 1940 and May 12, 1943. In late 1938, 18 year-old Lilly felt forced to leave Vienna, Austria, because of anti-semitism and Nazi fervor. In her diary, she wrote: “It is a curse that I shall miss this home in spite of the fact that it hates and rejects me…I shall cry for you, you stupid, pitiful country.” She escaped to England where she joined the British Army and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service Division.
Auxiliary Territorial Service cap badge worn by an Austrian Jewish woman in the British Auxiliary
Object
Auxiliary Territorial Service cap badge worn by Lilly Feldmann during her service in the British Military in Palestine during World War II. In late 1938, 18 year-old Lilly felt forced to leave Vienna, Austria, because of anti-semitism and Nazi fervor. In her diary, she wrote: “It is a curse that I shall miss this home in spite of the fact that it hates and rejects me…I shall cry for you, you stupid, pitiful country.” She escaped to England where she joined the British Army and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service Division.
Service recognition card for British commemorative medals and ribbons issued to an Austrian Jewish woman in the British Auxiliary
Object
Entitlement card for medals awarded to Lilly Feldmann by the British government for her military service during World War II in Africa and Palestine. In late 1938, 18 year-old Lilly felt forced to leave Vienna, Austria, because of anti-semitism and Nazi fervor. In her diary, her heartbreak is clear: “It is a curse that I shall miss this home in spite of the fact that it hates and rejects me…I shall cry for you, you stupid, pitiful country.” She escaped to England where she joined the British Army and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service Division.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.
Poster
Object
Poster, part of a collection consisting of audio recordings, artifacts, documents, and photographs collected by Dr. Dorit Whiteman for her work as an author and clinical psychologist researching and writing books about the Holocaust.