Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Stuffed toy monkey used by 26 year old Helena Fuchs to smuggle money from Vienna, Austria, to England in 1938. Since anti-Jewish laws restricted the amount of money Jews could take out of the country, Helena sewed money inside the monkey. Helena was living in Vienna when it was annexed by Nazi Germany in March 1938. Her fiance, Victor Koves, had already left Vienna and settled in London, England. They decided that Helena should join him and they married in London on December 30, 1938. In the early 1940s, they left for Shanghai by way of Canada, but they were able to obtain US visas in Canada and emigrated to New York.
- Date
-
use:
after 1938 March
- Geography
-
received:
Vienna (Austria)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the family of Lewis Victor Koves and Helena Koves
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Helena Koves
- Biography
-
Helena (Helly) Fuchs was born on October 4, 1911. She lived in Vienna, Austria, with her parents and worked as a senior cashier in a large retail store. In March 1938, the Anschluss, or the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany, occurred. Jews were disenfranchised and no longer permitted to take part in many activities and professions. Shortly after the Anschluss, Helena’s fiancé, Victor Koves, arranged for her to join him in London, England. Victor was born on June 11, 1913, and had worked with Helena before he emigrated to London. Victor worked various jobs and Helena worked as a housekeeper in London. They married on December 30, 1938. Victor and Helena avoided internment as enemy aliens because they held visas for Shanghai; one of Victor’s employers possibly vouched for them. In the early 1940s when submarines were very active, Victor and Helena decided to leave for Shanghai via Canada. A consular official in Canada arranged for them to get US visas and they emigrated to New York. Helena passed away on April 12, 2000. (Lewis) Victor passed away on April 19, 2010.
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Toys
- Category
-
Stuffed animals
- Object Type
-
Stuffed animals (Toys) (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Stuffed toy monkey with thick, matted, light brown and gray artificial fur. The head, arms, legs, and tail, are sewn on separately. The face, ears, hands and feet are covered in worn, light brown plush cloth. It has small, sunken brown glass eyes with black pupils and red painted nostril holes and lips. There are stitched vertical lines for fingers, offwhite stitching around the left arm, and a tear in the left hand and foot.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 10.500 inches (26.67 cm) | Width: 8.750 inches (22.225 cm) | Depth: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm)
- Materials
- overall : synthetic fiber, cloth, glass, paint
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 stuffed monkey was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Pam Brighton Cavar, the great-niece of Helena and Lewis Victor Koves.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 21:51:11
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn43405
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Also in Helena and Lewis Victor Koves collection
The collection consists of artifacts and a photograph relating to the experiences of Helena Fuchs in Vienna, Austria, and London, England, and of Victor Koves in London during the Holocaust.
Date: 1938-1942
Small silver curtain ring worn as a wedding ring by an Austrian Jewish refugee
Object
Small silver curtain ring worn as a wedding ring by 27 year old Helena Koves in London, England, where she married Victor Koves on December 30, 1938. Helena was living in Vienna when it was annexed by Nazi Germany in March 1938. Victor had already left Vienna and settled in London and they decided that Helena should join him. In the early 1940s, they left for Shanghai by way of Canada, but were able to obtain US visas in Canada and emigrated to New York.
Lewis Victor Koves and Helena Koves collection
Document
Contains a photograph of Lewis and Helena Koves (donor’s great uncle and aunt) who fled Nazi occupied Austria for England in 1939; taken some time after they fled Austria.
