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Auxiliary Territorial Service cap badge worn by an Austrian Jewish woman in the British Auxiliary

Object | Accession Number: 2009.294.5

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    Auxiliary Territorial Service cap badge worn by an Austrian Jewish woman in the British Auxiliary

    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    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.
    Date
    use:  1939-1945
    Geography
    issue: Great Britain
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Dorit B. Whiteman, Ph.D.
    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
    Badges
    Physical Description
    Bronze circular badge with an open stamped design formed from a laurel wreath with the end tips connected by an Imperial (King's) crown. In the open center of the wreath are the letters ATS, the letter T being taller. The reverse has a bent piece of rectangular metal with a maker's mark to clip to the hat.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
    Materials
    overall : metal

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The auxiliary territorial service cap badge 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, the cousins of Lilly Feldmann.
    Record last modified:
    2023-08-31 15:00:45
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn41456

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