Striped bath towel embroidered with the inmate’s prisoner number and used in Buchenwald concentration camp
- Date
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use:
1944 August 16-1945 April 11
- Geography
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issue:
Buchenwald (Concentration camp);
Weimar (Thuringia, Germany)
- Classification
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Furnishings and Furniture
- Category
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Household linens
- Object Type
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Bath towels (lcsh)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Gertrude Brand
Towel used by 35 year old Perec Brandt, embroidered with his prisoner number, 82321/23, for Buchenwald concentration camp where he was imprisoned from 1943-1945. Perec was the concertmaster of the Riga Latvian Symphony Orchestra in 1940 when the Soviets annexed Latvia. In June 1941, Latvia was under German occupation and Perec’s wife, daughter, and son were murdered by the SS Einsatzgruppen [mobile killing unit]. Perec was forced into the Riga ghetto, and later transferred to Riga-Kaiserwald, Stutthof, and Buchenwald concentration camps. In Buchenwald, he was ordered to play his violin for the commandant and was rewarded with extra rations. He kept his violin with him throughout his imprisonment and even slept with it. He was liberated from Buchenwald on April 11, 1945, by the United States Army. Perec weighed 50 pounds at liberation. He joined the Kibbutz Buchenwald, part of a displaced persons camp. Postwar, he performed with his violin in various DP camps where he met and married Grunia Lewin (later Gertrude), a survivor of Dondangen II, Stutthof, and Mühldorf concentration camps. They immigrated to the United States in February 1949.
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Record last modified: 2021-02-10 08:59:39
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn45083
Also in Percy Brand collection
The collection consists of artifacts, audiocassettes, documents, and a scrapbook related to the experiences of Perec Brandt (Percy Brand) in Latvia and in several concentration camps and displaced persons camps after the Holocaust, as well as his postwar musical career.
Violin, case and spare parts used by a Jewish Latvian musician while imprisoned in several concentration camps
Object
Violin, case, and parts kept by Perec Brandt during his imprisonment in several concentration camps from 1943-1945. A family friend gave the violin to Perec as a Bar Mitzvah present in 1921. Perec was the concertmaster of the Riga Latvian Symphony Orchestra in 1940 when the Soviets annexed Latvia. In June 1941, Latvia was under German occupation and Perec’s wife, daughter, and son were murdered by the SS Einsatzgruppen [mobile killing unit]. Perec was forced into the Riga ghetto, and later transferred to Riga-Kaiserwald, Stutthof, and Buchenwald concentration camps. In Buchenwald, he was ordered to play his violin for the commandant and was rewarded with extra rations. He kept his violin with him throughout his imprisonment and even slept with it. He was liberated from Buchenwald on April 11, 1945, by the United States Army. Perec weighed 50 pounds at liberation. He joined the Kibbutz Buchenwald, part of a displaced persons camp. Postwar, he performed with his violin in various DP camps where he met and married Grunia Lewin (later Gertrude), a survivor of Dondangen II, Stutthof, and Mühldorf concentration camps. They immigrated to the United States in February 1949.
Percy Brand papers
Document
The collection documents the life and musical career of Percy (Perec) Brand, a violinist originally from Liepāja, Latvia, who was imprisoned in the Kaiserwald, Stutthof, and Buchenwald concentration camps during the Holocaust. The material primarily relates to his post-war life in the Kibbutz Buchenwald and Zeilsheim displaced persons camps, as well as his musical career in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Included are biographical materials, sheet music, programs, photographs, and audio recordings. The biographical material includes an address book, clippings, a small amount of correspondence, his obituary, and a scrapbook of his career. The sheet music consists of printed and handwritten scores. It is likely that the bulk if not all of the printed sheet music are previously published compositions. The programs include events performed in post-war Germany and the United States. Also included are publicity materials. The photographs include depictions of pre and post-war family members, Zeilsheim, Percy and his wife Gertrude, and Percy’s performances. The photograph albums primarily document Percy’s life in the DP camps. The audio recordings consist of audio cassettes of Percy’s performances. Some appear to recorded radio broadcasts also featuring Ben Gailing, a contemporary of Percy.
In Hebrew characters - A Literary Music Concert: Two Hours in this World
Object
Advertising poster for a literary music concert saved by Perec Brandt (later Percy Brand) while he was living in and performing at a displaced persons camp in Germany from 1945 to 1949. The poster features the photographs of the four Yiddish quartet members, including Perec holding his violin, and lists the works selected for the concert program. Perec was the concertmaster of the Riga Latvian Symphony Orchestra in 1940 when the Soviets annexed Latvia. In June 1941, Latvia was under German occupation and Perec’s wife, daughter, and son were murdered by the SS Einsatzgruppen [mobile killing unit]. Perec was forced into the Riga ghetto, and later transferred to Riga-Kaiserwald, Stutthof, and Buchenwald concentration camps. In Buchenwald, he was ordered to play his violin for the commandant and was rewarded with extra rations. He kept his violin with him throughout his imprisonment and even slept with it. He was liberated from Buchenwald on April 11, 1945, by the United States Army. Perec weighed 50 pounds at liberation. He joined the Kibbutz Buchenwald, part of a displaced persons camp. Postwar, he performed with his violin in various DP camps where he met and married Grunia Lewin (later Gertrude), a survivor of Dondangen II, Stutthof, and Mühldorf concentration camps. They immigrated to the United States in February 1949.
Offset lithographic printing plate depicting Percy Brand holding his violin
Object
Tinted, offset lithographic, metal printing plate with a photograph of Perec Brandt (later Percy Brand) holding his violin (2006.133.2a-j), the same one used while a concentration camp inmate in Latvia and Germany from 1941 to 1945 and a displaced person in Germany from 1945 to 1949. Perec was the concertmaster of the Riga Latvian Symphony Orchestra in 1940 when the Soviets annexed Latvia. In June 1941, Latvia was under German occupation and Perec’s wife, daughter, and son were murdered by the SS Einsatzgruppen [mobile killing unit]. Perec was forced into the Riga ghetto, and later transferred to Riga-Kaiserwald, Stutthof, and Buchenwald concentration camps. In Buchenwald, he was ordered to play his violin for the commandant and was rewarded with extra rations. He kept his violin with him throughout his imprisonment and even slept with it. He was liberated from Buchenwald on April 11, 1945, by the United States Army. Perec weighed 50 pounds at liberation. He joined the Kibbutz Buchenwald, part of a displaced persons camp. Postwar, he performed with his violin in various DP camps where he met and married Grunia Lewin (later Gertrude), a survivor of Dondangen II, Stutthof, and Mühldorf concentration camps. They immigrated to the United States in February 1949.