John Bolé papers
Wartime and immediate post-war documents illustrating Ivan/Johann's experiences in Buchenwald and post-war allied Europe.
- Language
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German
English
Serbo-Croatian
Italian
- Extent
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1 folder
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Lorraine DeMaio
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Record last modified: 2022-07-28 17:51:40
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn44088
Also in John Bole collection
The collection consists of four drawings, a cap, a pouch, a finger ring, and documents relating to the experiences of Ivan Bole (later John Bole) during the Holocaust in Buchenwald concentration camp, and after the Holocaust in displaced persons camps in Italy and Germany.
Date: 1944-1950
Brown knit hat with a J triangle patch and initials worn by a Yugoslavian political prisoner
Object
Brown cap with two patches worn by Ivan (Johann) Bole, 29, in Buchenwald concentration camp from November 1944 until April 1945. The J (for Jugoslawisch) and the red inverted triangle indicated the wearer was a Yugoslavian political prisoner. The striped patch represents the Yugoslavian flag. Ivan, a Catholic, was a lawyer in Laibach, Yugoslavia (Ljubljana, Slovenia) when the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, invaded in April 1941. Laibach was annexed by Italy. Ivan went to Venice with the Slovenian Red Cross. In September 1944, he was arrested by the German SS for smuggling a radio transmitter into Trieste. In November, Ivan was sent to Buchenwald in Germany and assigned prisoner number 67186. He was assigned to work commando A6 in Wanz-leben am See. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945, by US troops. Germany surrendered on May 7. Ivan lived as a displaced person in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1950.
Button flap cloth pouch used by a Yugoslav political prisoner
Object
Military style brown cloth pouch used by Ivan (Johann) Bole, 29, in Buchenwald concentration camp where he was held as a Yugoslavian political prisoner from November 1944 until April 1945. Ivan, a Catholic, was a lawyer in Laibach, Yugoslavia (Ljubljana, Slovenia) when the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, invaded in April 1941. Laibach was annexed by Italy. Ivan went to Venice with the Slovenian Red Cross. In September 1944, he was arrested by the German SS for smuggling a radio transmitter into Trieste. In November, Ivan was sent to Buchenwald in Germany and assigned prisoner number 67186. He was assigned to work commando A6 in Wanz-leben am See. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945, by US troops. Germany surrendered on May 7. Ivan lived as a displaced person in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1950.
Aluminum ring with a letter and prisoner number owned by a Yugoslav political prisoner
Object
Engraved aluminum ring that belonged to 29 year old Ivan (Johann) Bole, who was imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp from November 1944 - April 1945. It is engraved with a J (Jugoslawisch) and an inverted triangle, the symbols Ivan was labelled with to identify him as a Yugoslavian political prisoner. Ivan, a Catholic, was a lawyer in Laibach, Yugoslavia (Ljubljana, Slovenia) when the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, invaded in April 1941. Laibach was annexed by Italy. Ivan went to Venice with the Slovenian Red Cross. In September 1944, he was arrested by the German SS for smuggling a radio transmitter into Trieste. In November, Ivan was sent to Buchenwald in Germany and assigned prisoner number 67186. He was assigned to work commando A6 in Wanz-leben am See. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945, by US troops. Germany surrendered on May 7. Ivan lived as a displaced person in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1950.
2 sided drawing of a seated inmate in an overcoat given to a political prisoner
Object
Double sided portrait of a prisoner given to 29 year old Ivan (Johann) Bole in Buchenwald concentration camp, where Ivan was held as a Yugoslavian political prisoner from November 1944 to April 1945. On the front is a man in an overcoat sitting on a bunk bed, the back has a sketch of his head. The artist was probably another inmate and it is signed N. Pinat, but nothing is known about him. Ivan, a Catholic, was a lawyer in Laibach, Yugoslavia (Ljubljana, Slovenia) when the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, invaded in April 1941. Laibach was annexed by Italy. Ivan went to Venice with the Slovenian Red Cross. In September 1944, he was arrested by the German SS for smuggling a radio transmitter into Trieste. In November, Ivan was sent to Buchenwald in Germany and assigned prisoner number 67186.nHe was assigned to work commando A6 in Wanz-leben am See. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945, by US troops. Germany surrendered on May 7. Ivan lived as a displaced person in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1950.
2 sided ink drawing of a shirtless male inmate given to a Yugoslavian political prisoner
Object
Double sided portrait of a prisoner given to 29 year old Ivan (Johann) Bole in Buchenwald concentration camp, where Ivan was held as a Yugoslavian political prisoner from November 1944 to April 1945. The artist was probably another inmate and it is signed N. Pinat, but nothing is known about him. It depicts a shirtless man with short hair fixing his shirt, sitting near bunk beds. The back has sketches of several faces. Ivan, a Catholic, was a lawyer in Laibach, Yugoslavia (Ljubljana, Slovenia) when the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, invaded in April 1941. Laibach was annexed by Italy. Ivan went to Venice with the Slovenian Red Cross. In September 1944, he was arrested by the German SS for smuggling a radio transmitter into Trieste. In November, Ivan was sent to Buchenwald in Germany and assigned prisoner number 67186. He was assigned to work commando A6 in Wanz-leben am See. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945, by US troops. Germany surrendered on May 7. Ivan lived as a displaced person in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1950.
Satiric sketch of two skeletal doctors with a patient given to a Yugoslavian political prisoner
Object
Caricature with two "doctors" and an anxious prisoner/patient given to 29 year old Ivan (Johann) Bole in Buchenwald concentration camp, where Ivan was held as a Yugoslavian political prisoner from November 1944 to April 1945. The artist was probably another inmate and it is signed N. Pinat, but nothing is known about him. Ivan, a Catholic, was a lawyer in Laibach, Yugoslavia (Ljubljana, Slovenia) when the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, invaded in April 1941. Laibach was annexed by Italy. Ivan went to Venice with the Slovenian Red Cross. In September 1944, he was arrested by the German SS for smuggling a radio transmitter into Trieste. In November, Ivan was sent to Buchenwald in Germany and assigned prisoner number 67186. He was assigned to work commando A6 in Wanz-leben am See. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945, by US troops. Germany surrendered on May 7. Ivan lived as a displaced person in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1950.
Drawing of a man using the latrine given to a Yugoslavian political prisoner
Object
Pencil portrait of a prisoner defecating in a concentration camp latrine given to 29 year old Ivan (Johann) Bole in Buchenwald concentration camp, where Ivan was held as a Yugoslavian political prisoner from November 1944 to April 1945. The artist was probably another inmate and it is signed N. Pinat, but nothing is known about him. Ivan, a Catholic, was a lawyer in Laibach, Yugoslavia (Ljubljana, Slovenia) when the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, invaded in April 1941. Laibach was annexed by Italy. Ivan went to Venice with the Slovenian Red Cross. In September 1944, he was arrested by the German SS for smuggling a radio transmitter into Trieste. In November, Ivan was sent to Buchenwald in Germany and assigned prisoner number 67186. He was assigned to work commando A6 in Wanz-leben am See. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945, by US troops. Germany surrendered on May 7. Ivan lived as a displaced person in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1950.
