Jacob Birnbaum papers
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Overview
- Description
- The Jacob Birnbaum papers consist of an identification card documenting Jacob Birnbaum’s status as a concentration camp survivor and letters Jacob wrote to Rose (Róża) Strzegowska (later Rose Rothschild), an inmate at the women’s camp, while both were imprisoned at Langenbielau concentration camp, a sub-camp of Gross-Rosen, during the Holocaust. Birnbaum had been exchanging letters with Rose’s twin sister, Eve (Ewa), until Eve became too sick to write. Jacob’s letters describe the terrible living and working conditions at Langenbielau, insufficient food and his efforts to obtain more food, and the laundry that he sends to Rose for cleaning, and they encourage Rose to stay strong and to visit him during a coffee delivery her camp would make to his camp. The letters are written on scraps of paper and the backs of factory reports or forms. Four of the letters are accompanied by English translations.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1944-1945
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Jacob Birnbaum
- Collection Creator
- Jacob Birnbaum
- Biography
-
Jacob Birnbaum (1922-2007) was born in Piotrków Trybunalski to Faitel Nathan Birnbaum (d. 1942) and Ruda Freida Jurkiewicz Birnbaum (d. 1942). He survived the Dabrowa Górnicza ghetto and the concentration and labor camps at Anhalt bei Auschwitz, Markstadt bei Breslau, Ludwigsdorf, Graditz, and Langenbielau. He was liberated in May 1945, married fellow Holocaust survivor Mira Laudon (1925-2008) in August 1945, relocated to Germany in 1946, and immigrated to the United States in 1949. His parents and sister Chana (1925-1943) were murdered in the Holocaust.
Physical Details
- Extent
-
1 folder
- System of Arrangement
- The Jacob Birnbaum papers are arranged as a single series: I. Jacob Birnbaum papers, 1944-1945
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jews--Poland--Piotrków Trybunalski. Concentration camp inmates--Correspondence. World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Germany.
- Geographic Name
- Piotrków Trybunalski (Poland) Bielawa (Wałbrzych, Poland)
- Personal Name
- Rothschild, Rose, 1925-
- Corporate Name
- Langenbielau (Concentration camp)
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Dr. Jacob Birnbaum donated his papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2000.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-02-24 13:58:51
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn502518
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
