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Red leather pouch used by a Czech Jewish inmate in Theresienstadt

Object | Accession Number: 2002.436.3

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    Red leather pouch used by a Czech Jewish inmate in Theresienstadt

    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Pouch used by Helene Reik while she was interned in Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia, beginning in Janaury 1942. Helene died there in 1943 from an infection following several surgeries performed in the camp hospital.
    Geography
    use: Theresienstadt (Concentration camp); Terezin (Ustecky kraj, Czech Republic)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Elizabeth Margosches
    Contributor
    Subject: Helene Reik
    Biography
    Helene Reik was born in Osoblaha, Czechoslovakia, Austro-Hungary, on March 23, 1884. She was married to Berthold and the couple had four children: Kurt, born in 1906, Margarete, born in 1910, Irene, (1912-1992), and Hans, born in 1915. By 1912, the family moved to Opava (Troppau, Czech Republic.) Berthold passed away in 1935. In the late 1930s, Helena moved to Brno. In fall 1938, the western powers met with Hitler in Munich and agreed to Hitler's annexation of the Czech Sudetenland border region, where Opava was located. All of Helene's children managed to leave Czechoslovakia by 1939: Kurt settled in Brazil and Irene, a designer and architect, and Margarete went to Great Britain.

    In March 1939, Germany violated the pact and annexed the Bohemia and Moravia provinces, where Brno was located. German allies took over other regions and Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. Anti-Jewish policies were enacted: most Jews lost their jobs and property and belongings were confiscated. In September 1941, Reinhard Heydrich became Reich Protector and the persecution increased. All Jews were required to wear Star of David badges. In November 1941, Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp opened near Prague and large scale transports of Czech Jews were sent there. Helene was sent to the camp on transport U-891 from Brno on January 29, 1942. Helene dedicated herself to recording the deplorable conditions in the camp. Resources were scarce, so Helene recorded her thoughts and experiences in the margins and on the backs of family photographs that she had brought with her, as well as postcards and letters she received while in the ghetto. Helene, 59, died on November 15, 1943, from an infection following surgery for appendicitis performed in the camp hospital. Her belongings were saved by her niece and fellow inmate, Gerda Reik Lanzer, who gave them to Helene's daughter, Irene, after the May 9, 1945, liberation of the camp after the end of the war.

    Physical Details

    Classification
    Containers
    Category
    Bags
    Physical Description
    Rectangular, dark red, textured leather pouch with a top flap held in place on the body with a leather tab. It has an exterior back pocket and 1 interior pocket lined with light pink satin.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 6.375 inches (16.192 cm) | Width: 9.125 inches (23.178 cm) | Depth: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm)
    Materials
    overall : leather, cloth

    Rights & Restrictions

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

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The pouch was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2002 by Elizabeth Margosches, grandaughter of Helene Reik.
    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:
    2023-05-25 10:23:51
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn520755

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