Overview
- Brief Narrative
- White flag with a blue Star of David sewn by Ruth Linden in 1945 in Shanghai, China, to express her vision of the future flag of Israel. The flag was sewn in the "Ladies Secondhand Store," owned by the Linden family. They provided clothing goods and tailoring services to the community in Shanghai.
- Date
-
creation:
1945
- Geography
-
creation:
Hongkou Qu (Shanghai, China)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Kurt Joseph Linden
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Fred Linden
- Biography
-
Fritz Isaac Lindenstrauss was born in 1895 in Prenzlau, Germany. During World War I (1914-1918), Fritz served in the German Army as a cannoneer. After leaving the military, he worked in several positions in department stores in Germany. In 1933, the Nazi regime came into power and pursued anti-Jewish policies. Fritz lost his job in 1934 because he was Jewish. On November. 12, 1935, he married Ruth Betty Salomon, a seamstress, who was born in Cammin, Pomerania, Germany, in 1909. The couple lived in Berlin where they had a store. A son, Kurt Joseph, was born on December 27, 1936. Their store was destroyed by Nazi Party supporters during the Kristallnacht pogrom on November 9-10, 1938. Fritz arranged for his family to flee Germany shortly afterwards. The family left Germany in April 1939 for Shanghai, China. They lived in the Hongkew ghetto, the area of Shanghai designated for Jewish refugees by the Japanese occupation authorities. The family owned and operated the Ladies Secondhand Store at 325 Wayside Road, in the same building where they lived. The war in Europe ended in May 1945 and the war in Japan ended in September. The Linden family, with sponsorship from relatives and friends, were able to emigrate to the United States in August 1947. They settled in Salt Lake City, Utah. They Americanized the family name to Linden and Fritz changed his name to Fred. Ruth, 66, died in 1967. Fred remarried in 1972. He passed away on June 6, 1997, at the age of 102.
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Identifying Artifacts
- Category
-
Flags
- Object Type
-
Flags (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Blue and white cloth flag with a Star of David at the center with the top half stitched in white and the bottom half stitched in blue.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 19.000 inches (48.26 cm) | Width: 33.875 inches (86.043 cm)
- Materials
- overall : cloth
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--China--Shanghai--Personal narratives. Refugees, Jewish--China--Shanghai--Biography. Jews, German--China--Shanghai--Biography. Tailors--China--Shanghai--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--China--Shanghai--Personal narratives.
- Geographic Name
- Shanghai (China)--Jewish refugees.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The flag was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1998 by Kurt Joseph Linden, the son of Fred Linden.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-10-17 09:02:04
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn522158
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Also in This Collection
Linden family papers
Document
Contains biographical sketches, photonegatives, photographs, school report cards, newsletters, identification documents, certificates, clippings, affidavits, a Jewish flag, and various other documents relating to the experiences of Fred Linden (Fritz Isaac Lindenstrauss), his wife Ruth Betty Salomon Linden, and their son, Kurt Joseph Linden, during their time living as German Jewish refugees in Shanghai, China, from April 1939 to August 1947. Several documents relate to the Linden family's business, "Ladies Secondhand Store," where they provided clothing goods and tailoring services to the community. It was in the family's store that Ruth Linden sewed her "Jewish flag," circa 1945, to express her vision of the future flag of Israel.