Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Rectangular badge printed with a Star of David and the letter Ž for Jew, kept by Teodora (Dorica) Basch (later Theodora Basch Vrančić Klayman) while a hidden child from 1941-1945 in Ludbreg, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). The badge belonged to a member of her extended family and was kept in their home during the war. This type of patch was used only from April to June 1941 and was replaced by small metal, or sometimes paper, badges with the Ž. In April 1941, three-year-old Dorica was visiting her maternal grandparents, Rabbi Leopold and Katerina Deutsch in Ludbreg when Germany and its allies invaded. Yugoslavia was partitioned and Ludbreg was in the newly formed Independent State of Croatia, ruled by the pro-Nazi, fascist Ustaša. Her parents, Salamon and Silva, and her infant brother, Zdravko, were arrested in Zagreb. Their housekeeper was allowed to take Zdravko from jail and he was brought to join Dorica. Salamon was deported to Jasenovac concentration camp and killed after escaping in 1945. Silva was sent to subcamp Stara Gradiška, and likely died in 1942 in Đakovo concentration camp. In 1942, Dorica's grandparents were deported to Jasenovac and murdered. Dorica and Zdranko were left with their maternal aunt, Giza, and her Catholic husband, Ljudevit Vrančić. Ustaša and the Germans worked vigorously to rid Croatia of Jews, but many neighbors helped hide the siblings. In 1943, Ljudevit was arrested. After his release, Giza was denounced as a Jew, sent to Auschwitz, and died soon after arrival. German forces left in April 1945. Most of the children's relatives were killed in concentration and labor camps, and Ljudevit Vrančić adopted them. Zdranko died of scarlet fever in 1946.
- Date
-
use:
after 1941 April 30-1941 June
- Geography
-
use:
Ludbreg (Croatia)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Theodora Klayman
- Markings
- front, center, printed, black dye : Ž [Židov Jew]
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Theodora Basch Vrančić Klayman
- Biography
-
Theodora Basch Vrančić Klayman (1938- ) was born Teodora (Dorica) Rahela Basch in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia) on January 31, 1938. Her father, Salamon (Shlomo, 1907-1945), owned and operated a small brush manufacturing plant. Her mother, Silva (née Deutsch, 1912-1942), was a teacher and grew up in Ludbreg where her father, Josef Leopold Deutsch (1871-1942), served as the community rabbi for more than 40 years.
Silva was born to Josef Leopold (1871-1942) and Katarina (1872-1942) Deutsch, and had three siblings: Giza (1895-1943), Blanka (1905-1942), and Erne (1910-?). Salamon was born to Jakob (1879-1932) and Charlotta (1875-1942) and had several siblings, including Lina, Josef (1910-?), Arnold (1913-1945), and Bernard (Dov, 1915-?).
In April 1941, Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia. The country was partitioned and Croatia became an independent state under the Ustaša regime. During this time, Teodora visited her grandparents and extended family in Ludbreg, Croatia. By June, Teodora’s parents and brother, Zdravko (1941-1946), were arrested. Their housekeeper was able to get Zdravko released from jail and Silva’s family took him to Ludbreg. Salamon was deported to the Jasenovac concentration camp and Silva was sent to Stara Gradiška, a subcamp of Jasenovac. Salamon escaped from Jasenovac in 1945 with a group of Jewish prisoners, and they went into hiding in the mountains. While seeking food in a local village, they were caught and shot.
In Ludbreg, Teodora and Zdravko remained with their grandparents, but by 1942, their grandparents and Silva’s sister Blanka Apler (1905-1942) and family were deported to Jasenovac where they were killed. Teodora and Zdravko were left behind with Silva’s other sister Gizela (Giza) Vrančić (1895-1943) and her Catholic husband, Ljudevit (1885-1970). To avoid arrest, Teodora and Zdravko were frequently taken by train to a nearby town or to spend a few days with different neighbors. Eventually, Ljudevit was arrested on suspicion of supporting the partisan resistance movement and was sent to Jasenovac. He was eventually released along with other political prisoners. By 1943, Gizela was arrested and deported to Auschwitz and died from an intestinal illness.
After liberation in 1945, Ljudevit legally adopted Teodora and Zdravko. Zdravko died of scarlet fever in the fall of 1946. Teodora remained with Ljudevit, attending high school in Varazdin and then the University of Zagreb. In 1957, she moved to Switzerland to live with her paternal uncle, Josef Basch, and his family and attend the University of Lausanne. She married Daniel Klayman, a Jewish American research chemist, in the fall of 1958 and later moved to the United States and had two children.
Physical Details
- Language
- Croatian
- Classification
-
Identifying Artifacts
- Category
-
Badges
- Object Type
-
Star of David badges (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Badges.
- Physical Description
- Very faded, rectangular yellow cloth badge with a small, six-pointed Star of David outline above a large Serbo-Croatian letter Ž printed vertically in the center with black dye. The edges are machine hemmed onto the back with white thread. There is a small, red-brown stain on the left edge. The back shows smudging of the dye near the Ž. The lightweight cloth is nearly worn through on the bottom. Horizontally across the top are many small holes. Some appear to be pinholes. A row atop the hem appears to be from the removal of stitches by conservation where this badge was previously sewn to a similar badge, 2002.432.2. It is not known when or why the two badges were once sewn together, though the donor does not remember them not being attached
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm) | Width: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm)
- Materials
- overall : cloth, dye, thread
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Fascism--Croatia. Hidden children (Holocaust)--Croatia--Ludbreg--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Croatia--Ludbreg--Personal narratives. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Yugoslavia--Personal narratives. Jewish children in the Holocaust--Croatia--Ludbreg--Biography. Jews--Persecutions--Croatia--Biography. Jews--Rescue--Croatia--Ludbreg--Biography. Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust--Croatia--Ludbreg--Personal narratives. Yugoslavia--History--Axis occupation, 1941-1945--Biography.
- Geographic Name
- Ludbreg (Croatia) Zagreb (Croatia)
- Personal Name
- Klayman, Theodora Basch Vrančić, 1938-
- Corporate Name
- Jasenovac (Concentration camp)
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The badge was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2002 by Theodora Basch Vrančić Klayman.
- 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:
- 2023-08-23 08:48:09
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn512963
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Also in Theodora Basch Vrančić Klayman collection
The collection consists of two Star of David badges and photographs relating to the experience of Teodora (Dorica) Basch (later Theodora Basch Vrančić Klayman) and the Apler, Basch, Deutsch, and Vrančić families in Yugoslavia before and during the Holocaust during which Theodora lived in hiding in Ludbreg in the fascist ruled Independent State of Croatia.
Date: approximately 1935-1945
Rectangular yellow badge with Star of David and Ž kept by Theodora Basch Vrančić Klayman
Object
Rectangular badge printed with a Star of David and the letter Ž for Jew, kept by Teodora (Dorica) Basch (later Theodora Basch Vrančić Klayman) while a hidden child from 1941-1945 in Ludbreg, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). The badge belonged to a member of her extended family and was kept in their home during the war. This type of patch was used only from April to June 1941 and was replaced by small metal, or sometimes paper, badges with the Ž. In April 1941, three-year-old Dorica was visiting her maternal grandparents, Rabbi Leopold and Katerina Deutsch in Ludbreg when Germany and its allies invaded. Yugoslavia was partitioned and Ludbreg was in the newly formed Independent State of Croatia, ruled by the pro-Nazi, fascist Ustaša. Her parents, Salamon and Silva, and her infant brother, Zdravko, were arrested in Zagreb. Their housekeeper was allowed to take Zdravko from jail and he was brought to join Dorica. Salamon was deported to Jasenovac concentration camp and killed after escaping in 1945. Silva was sent to subcamp Stara Gradiška, and likely died in 1942 in Đakovo concentration camp. In 1942, Dorica's grandparents were deported to Jasenovac and murdered. Dorica and Zdranko were left with their maternal aunt, Giza, and her Catholic husband, Ljudevit Vrančić. Ustaša and the Germans worked vigorously to rid Croatia of Jews, but many neighbors helped hide the siblings. In 1943, Ljudevit was arrested. After his release, Giza was denounced as a Jew, sent to Auschwitz, and died soon after arrival. German forces left in April 1945. Most of the children's relatives were killed in concentration and labor camps, and Ljudevit Vrančić adopted them. Zdranko died of scarlet fever in 1946.