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Engraved silver cigarette case with box owned by a German Jewish refugee

Object | Accession Number: 2004.524.18 a-b

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    Engraved silver cigarette case with box owned by a German Jewish refugee
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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Engraved silver cigarette case and purple box acquired by Peter Victor in Shanghai, China, where he lived as a Jewish refugee from 1938-1947. It has an engraved inscription. Peter, age 18, left Berlin for Shanghai in 1938 to escape the anti-Jewish policies of the Nazi-led government. His parents, Carl and Elsa, arrived in Shanghai in 1939. Carl died in 1940 and Elsa in 1942. Shanghai was liberated by the United States Army on September 3, 1945. With the aid of the American Joint Distribution Committee, Peter emigrated to America in December 1947.
    Date
    received:  approximately 1947 December
    Geography
    received: Shanghai (China)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Estate of Peter M. Victor and in memory of Carl and Elsa Victor and Berta Neidermann Victor
    Contributor
    Subject: Peter M. Victor
    Manufacturer: Zee Sung
    Biography
    Peter Max Victor was born in Munich, Germany, on April 19, 1920, the only child of Carl Nathan and Elsa Alexander Victor. Carl was born in Gusten on May 1, 1879, to Louis (1832-1901) and Henrietta Pels Victor (1850-1940). Carl had a sister, Rebecca (1881-1970) who married a gentile, Gustav Adler (1882-1958), and had two sons. Elsa was born on December 25, 1888. Carl served in the Germany Army during World War I (1914-1918.) Carl was a poet and chemist and owner of a food dye and preservatives factory. Elsa worked with the business. In 1924, the family moved to Berlin. The family was well off and Jewish, but not especially observant. After the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in Germany in 1933, anti-Jewish legislation and restrictions became increasingly harsh. Carl’s business was not restricted and it converted to produce war rations for the Army. After the Kristallnacht destruction of November 9-10, 1938, the family decided to leave Germany. They bought tickets for Shanghai, China, because it was an open port with no visa requirements.

    Peter left Germany on May 15, 1939, and arrived in Shanghai on June 14. Carl sold the family’s furniture and his factory. Jews could take almost no money out of Germany. Carl entrusted the sale proceeds to a friend who said he would transfer it to a bank in Shanghai, but never did. Carl and Elsa arrived in Shanghai in June 1939 on the Conte Rosso. They lived together in a small room, but life was difficult because they were penniless. Peter worked odd jobs in a hospital and community kitchen. Both of his parents contracted tropical diseases. Carl died, 61, of amoebic dysentery on November 29, 1940. Elsa developed diabetes because of the lack of adequate food and, at age, 54, passed away on May 9, 1942. Peter had to move to Hongkew ghetto in 1943 and got a job as a lifeguard at Hongkew Park, a country club for the elite of the Japanese occupation authorities.

    The war in Europe ended with Germany's surrender on May 7, 1945. Shanghai was liberated by the United States Army on September 3, 1945. Peter worked as a dispatcher and driver for the US Army Air Force motor pool. In December 1947, the American Joint Distribution Committee assisted Peter in emigrating to America on the USNS Marine Adder. His paternal aunt, Rebecca Adler, survived the war in Berlin; her husband, who was not Jewish, had been able to save her, but both their sons were killed by the Nazis. For two years, he lived in San Francisco. Peter married Berta Neidermann Spiner on April 25, 1951, in Chicago. Berta, born January 20, 1917, had arrived in the US in 1938, a refugee from Nazi ruled Vienna. Her parents, Joseph and Anna Scheier Neidermann, were murdered in Auschwitz. Peter and Berta settled in Washington DC. Peter owned a gift business. After his retirement, he volunteered at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Berta, 71, passed away on May 28, 1988. Peter, 73, died on May 7, 1993.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Physical Description
    a. Rectangular, double hinged silver cigarette case with a metal push tab on the right side. The front has an engraved, large ornate dragon. On the upper left is an engraved name within a rectangle. The interior is lined with gold colored metal. The interior left has engraved, diagonal English text. The interior right has 2 small, engraved maker’s marks of a Chinese export silver manufacturer, Zee Sung. The metal tab on the interior inserts into 2 slots near the lower right edge; it lifts upwards and secures the cigarettes.
    b. Rectangular cardboard box covered in purple, diamond patterned cloth with an orange cloth loop and plastic rod closure on the front. The exterior base upper edges and interior are covered in thin, light pink paper. The exterior base lower edges and bottom are covered in thin, white paper. The interior has cotton stuffing.
    Dimensions
    a: Height: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) | Width: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm)
    b: Height: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm) | Width: 5.000 inches (12.7 cm) | Depth: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm)
    Materials
    a : silver
    b : cardboard, cloth, paper, plastic
    Inscription
    a. exterior, upper left, rectangle, engraved : PETER
    a. interior, left side, upper left, cursive, engraved : To Peter / With Love / Bee / S’hai Dec. 1947
    a. interior, maker’s mark, right side, lower right, within rectangles, engraved : SILVER ZEE SUNG

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The cigarette case and box were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Arleen Tievsky, as executor of the Estate of Peter Victor.
    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:
    2022-07-28 18:28:44
    This page:
    http:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn515889

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