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Handbell

Object | Accession Number: 1991.226.105
1991.226.105 front Handbell Click to enlarge

Created by Max Heppner (donor) for Irene Heppner (donor's mother), March 1945.

Date
1945 March 11
Language
Dutch
Classification
Personal Equipment and Supplies
Category
Musical instruments
Object Type
Handbells (lcsh)
Credit Line
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Amichai Heppner
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About This Object

Physical Description
Handbell, made from scraps by Max Heppner for Irene Heppner, used to summon help from sickbed. Star of David and words "Voor Maman" are inscribed on handbell. dated March 11, 1945. In Dutch.
Dimensions
overall : 5.510 diam. in. (13.995 diam. cm.)
Materials
overall : metal, paint
Inscription
Star of David and words "Voor Maman"
Contributor
Artisan: Max Amichai Heppner
Biography
Max Amichai Heppner was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1933, to Albert and Irene Kramer Heppner. His parents fled Berlin, Germany, earlier that year after the January assumption of power by Adolf Hitler. His father Albert, born in 1900, was an art dealer and art historian. In May 1940, Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands. In 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, Amichai's family fled to the Dutch countryside. They decided to leave for France with friends Heinz and Elli Graumann and their son Michael. An attempt to reach the unoccupied zone in France failed when the they learned that the people they were paying 5000 guilders to smuggle them into France intended to murder them. They went into hiding, but had to keep moving from place to place. The Dutch underground later placed the Heppner family and another Jewish family on a Dutch farm owned by Harry and Dina Janssen in Zeilberg-Deurne. The farmer, a Gentile, built special hiding places for them and gave them a radio. They lived mostly in chicken houses until liberation in September 1944. Max's father Albert, 45, died of liver failure in summer 1945, soon after liberation. Max and his mother Irene emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946. They arrived in Hoboken, N.J., and then stayed with family in Ohio, evnetually settling in Cleveland. Max was later drafted into the United States Army. Irene, age 89, died in 1997.

Administrative History

Legal Status
Permanent Collection
Provenance
The bell was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991 by Amichai Heppner.

Rights and Restrictions

Conditions on Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use
No restrictions on use
 
Record last modified: 2018-10-24 14:04:25
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn5075

Also in Max Amichai Heppner collection

114 documents inside folder: concerns securing, financing and delivering a gift tractor to the Janssen family in Brazil, dated 1960-1961. Includes 96 letters (originals and copies); five notes, one thank you card, one envelope, two translations, seven catalog/advertisements, one purchase order and one phone bill. Accretion: Correspondence primarily of Irene Heppner to family and friends postwar, also included are letters from Max as well. Dates circa 1944-1950s; Cleveland, OH, United Kingdom, Amsterdam; in Dutch and English

Sewing basket made while in hiding in the Netherlands

Sewing basket made while in hiding in the Netherlands

Object

Basket and accessories made by Amichai (Max) Heppner from weeds and reeds found on a farm while in hiding in North Brabant, the Netherlands, circa 1943.

Sketchbook

Object

Created by Max Heppner (donor), circa 1942-1943.

Map created by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map created by 10 year old Max Heppner, around 1942-1943, when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map created by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map created by 10 year old Max Heppner, around 1942-1943, when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map created by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map created by 10 year old Max Heppner, around 1942-1943, when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map created by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map created by 10 year old Max Heppner, around 1942-1943, when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map created by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map created by 10 year old Max Heppner, around 1942-1943, when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Handkerchief

Object

Created by Irene Heppner (donor's mother), 1943.

Map of Eastern Europe and the Middle East owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner, around 1942-1943, when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of Germany owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland from 1942-1944. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of the Western Front in Europe owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland from 1942-1944. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of the Eastern front in Europe owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland from 1942-1944. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of the Far East owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland from 1942-1944. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of Italy and Southeast Europe owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland from 1942-1944. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of France owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland from 1942-1944. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of the canal network in France owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland from 1942-1944. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of Africa owned by a Dutch Jewish boy while living in hiding

Object

Map owned by 10 year old Max Heppner when he was living in hiding with his family on a farm in Holland from 1942-1944. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. Max and his family lived in Amsterdam and in 1942, after house raids and the confiscation of his father's art business, they attempted to flee to France. The Dutch underground placed the family with another Jewish family on a farm. They lived mostly in chicken houses where the farmer built special hiding places and gave them a radio. The area was liberated in September 1944. Max and his mother emigrated to the United States on November 4, 1946.

Map of ground installations of an area of North Brabant taken from a German soldier

Object

Taken from German soldier, circa 1941.

View Collection