Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Czechoslovak Medal for Valor 1939-1945 with striped ribbon awarded to Josef Hauptman in 1946 for bravery as a soldier during the war against Nazi Germany. He received the medal with a certificate (see 2004.643.1) on March 6, 1946. In 1938, Czechoslovakia was dismantled and its territory absorbed by Nazi Germany and its allies. Josef, 18, was drafted into the Soviet Army that year. He fought with Soviet forces for the rest of the war. He was wounded for the second time and hospitalized when the war ended on May 8, 1945. Sometime that summer, Josef became a member of the Czechoslovak Army. In December 1945, he was honored as a disabled veteran. Josef also received medals in recognition of his bravery during the war from both the Czechoslovak and Soviet governments.
- Date
-
issue:
1946 March 06
commemoration: 1939-1945
- Geography
-
issue:
Prague (Czech Republic)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Joseph Hauptman
- Markings
- front, embossed : Za Chrabost [For Valor]
reverse, embossed : PRAVDA / VÍTĚZÍ / 1939 [Truth Prevails] - Contributor
-
Subject:
Joseph Hauptman
- Biography
-
Josef Hauptman was born in Mukacevo, Czechoslovakia (Mukacheve, Ukraine), on June 5, 1919, to an Hasidic Jewish family. He had seven siblings. Josef was very devout and a frequent attendeee at the tish held by the Mukacevo Rabbi. Mukacheva was in the Carpathian Rus and had been part of Hungary until World War I after which it was made part of Czechoslovakia. In November 1938, Hungary reclaimed the territory with the support of Nazi Germany in the First Vienna Award. Sometime in 1938, Josef was drafted into a Soviet Army unit along with 1000 other Jewish men. He fought with the Soviet Army for seven years. He was wounded in a lung and an eye. While he was in the army hospital, a non-Jewish German doctor told Joseph that he should leave. Two days after Joseph left, the hospital was blown up.
After the war ended in May 1945, Josef was repatriated to Czechoslovakia and made a member of the Czechoslovak Army. He was awarded several medals for his service during the war from both the Czechoslovak and the Soviet governments. The only surviving member of his family was a sister. Josef believed it was due to the protective presence of Hashem (God) that he survived. Josef married and the couple had two sons and a daughter. The family emigrated to Israel and Canada before settling in the United States where he Americanized the spelling of his name. Joseph, 91, passed away in 2011 in Queens, New York.
Physical Details
- Language
- Czech
- Classification
-
Military Insignia
- Category
-
Medals
- Object Type
-
Medals, Czech (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Bronze circular medal, 1.250 inches diameter, with an attached striped grosgrain ribbon. The front has an embossed design with an upright sword imposed over a left profile of a lion roaring with extended tongue, the Lion of Bohemia. To the left is a small double barred Cross of Lorraine and above, near the sword point, is a banner with Czech text. Along the edge is a linden wreath; the rim is smooth. The reverse has an embossed linden wreath along the edge, Czech text, and a date. Attached to the top is a suspension ring with a hinged V-shaped bar with embossed linden leaves through which the ribbon is threaded. The ribbon has 11 vertical stripes, the white are narrow, the red medium, and the blue wide: red, white, blue, white, red, white, red, white, blue, white, red. On the reverse is a metal backing pin with 2 prongs.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm)
- Materials
- overall : metal, ribbon
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jewish soldiers--Czechoslovakia--Biography. Jewish soldiers--Soviet Union--Biography. Jews, Czech--Soviet Union--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Eastern Front--Personal narratives, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Soviet Union--Biography.
- Geographic Name
- Czechoslovakia--Armada--Biography.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Joseph Hauptman.
- 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:
- 2023-08-31 14:42:47
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn516139
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Also in Joseph Hauptman collection
The collection consists of medals, medal certificates relating to the experiences of Joseph Hauptman as a soldier in the Soviet Army and the Czechoslovak Army Abroad during World War II and an identification card relating to the experiences of Frida Lerner in Mauthausen concentration camp during and after the Holocaust.
Date: 1945-1947
Ceskoslovensky Valecny Kriz 1939 (Czechoslovak War Cross) with ribbon awarded to a Czech Jewish soldier
Object
Czechoslovak War Cross 1939 with striped ribbon awarded to Josef Hauptman in 1946 for bravery as a soldier during the war against Nazi Germany. He received the medal with a certificate (see 2004.643.1) on March 6, 1946. In 1938, Czechoslovakia was dismantled and its territory absorbed by Nazi Germany and its allies. Josef, 18, was drafted into the Soviet Army that year. He fought with Soviet forces for the rest of the war. He was wounded for the second time and hospitalized when the war ended on May 8, 1945. Sometime that summer, Josef became a member of the Czechoslovak Army. In December 1945, he was honored as a disabled veteran. Josef also received medals in recognition of his bravery during the war from both the Czechoslovak and Soviet governments.
Medal for Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 awarded by the Soviet Union to a Czech Jewish soldier
Object
Soviet Medal for Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 with striped ribbon awarded to Josef Hauptman for bravery as a soldier during the war against Nazi Germany. He received the medal with a certificate (see 2004.643.1) in 1947. In 1938, Czechoslovakia was dismantled and its territory absorbed by Nazi Germany and its allies. Josef, 18, was drafted into the Soviet Army that year. He fought with Soviet forces for the rest of the war. He was wounded for the second time and hospitalized when the war ended on May 8, 1945. Sometime that summer, Josef became a member of the Czechoslovak Army. In December 1945, he was honored as a disabled veteran. Josef also received medals in recognition of his bravery during the war from both the Czechoslovak and Soviet governments.
Pametni Medaile Ceskoslovenska Armada V Zahranici (Czechoslovak Army Abroad) medal awarded to a Czech Jewish soldier
Object
Commemorative Medal of the Czechoslovak Army Abroad 1939 with striped ribbon awarded to Josef Hauptman in 1946 for bravery as a soldier during the war against Nazi Germany. In 1938, Czechoslovakia was dismantled and its territory absorbed by Nazi Germany and its allies. Josef, 18, was drafted into the Soviet Army that year. He fought with Soviet forces for the rest of the war. He was wounded for the second time and hospitalized when the war ended on May 8, 1945. Sometime that summer, Josef became a member of the Czechoslovak Army. In December 1945, he was honored as a disabled veteran. Josef also received medals in recognition of his bravery during the war from both the Czechoslovak and Soviet governments.
Joseph Hauptman papers
Document
The Joseph Hauptman papers consist of an identification card issued to Joseph Hauptman in 1945; an identification card issued to Frida Lerner on May 22, 1945, stating that she was liberated from Mauthausen concentration camp; and four certificates that accompany medals from the Czech and Russian Armies issued to Joseph Hauptman.
