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Belt created from leather scraps by a concentration camp prisoner

Object | Accession Number: 1988.126.28
1988.126.28 front Belt created from leather scraps by a concentration camp prisoner Click to enlarge

The belt was created by Ruth Wiener from leather scraps found in her workplace in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Date
1944  (received)
Geography
received : Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp); Belsen (Bergen, Celle, Germany)
Classification
Dress Accessories
Category
Belts (Clothing)
Object Type
Belts (Clothing) (lcsh)
Credit Line
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ruth Klemens
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About This Object

Physical Description
The belt is made of interlocking loops of brown, red, and blue leather arranged in a pattern of alternating colors. There is no buckle or other fastening device.
Dimensions
overall : 38.000 x 0.875 in. (96.52 x 2.223 cm.)
Materials
overall : leather
Contributor
Subject: Ruth Klemens
Biography
Ruth Klemens (1927-2011) was born in Berlin to Alfred Wiener (b. 1885) and Margarethe Wiener (nee Saulmann, 1895-1945). They moved to Amsterdam in 1934 with her grandmother, Amalia Wiener. Around 1938 Alfred moved to London, and he relocated to the United States before Pearl Harbor. Ruth was deported to Westerbork with her mother and sisters, Eva and Mirjam, in June 1943. They were transferred to Bergen-Belsen in January 1944. They left in January 1945 for Switzerland as part of a prisoner exchange based on Paraguayan passports her father had purchased for them. Her mother died upon arrival in Switzerland, and Ruth and her sisters were transferred to Marseilles, where they were put on a boat to the United States in February 1945.

Keywords and Subjects

Administrative History

Legal Status
Permanent Collection
Provenance
The belt was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by Ruth Wiener Klemens.

Rights and Restrictions

Conditions on Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use
No restrictions on use
 
Record last modified: 2018-10-24 14:04:48
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn514961

Also in Ruth Wiener Klemens collection

The collection relates to the life of Ruth Wiener Klemens, her mother, Margarete Wiener, and her sisters, Mirjam and Eva Wiener, during their time at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany and Westerbork concentration camp in the Netherlands.

Date: 1941-1943

Pin embroidered with a Star of David given to an inmate at Berger Belsen for her birthday

Pin embroidered with a Star of David given to an inmate at Berger Belsen for her birthday

Object

The pin was made by a friend and given to Ruth Wiener as a birthday gift at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.

Bouquet of leather flowers made by an inmate at Bergen Belsen

Bouquet of leather flowers made by an inmate at Bergen Belsen

Object

The bouquet was created by Ruth Wiener from leather scraps found in her workplace in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Leather charm pin made from scraps by an inmate in Bergen-Belsen

Leather charm pin made from scraps by an inmate in Bergen-Belsen

Object

The pin was created by Ruth Wiener from leather scraps found in her workplace in Westerbork concentration camp.

Ruth Wiener Klemens papers

Ruth Wiener Klemens papers

Document

The Ruth Wiener Klemens papers consist of biographical materials, registration correspondence and forms, and a Westerbork map and bath ticket documenting the status of the Wiener family from Berlin in Amsterdam, their deportation to Westerbork, and their transfer to Bergen-Belsen.

View Collection