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Headless doll with detached eyeballs, bonnet

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Cloth doll wearing pink knit clothing, handmade by Annie Loewenstein (donor's mother) in Munich, Germany. The Loewenstein family: Willy (donor's father) [b. 1894], Annie [b. 1904], Ruth (donor) [b. 1929], and Marianne (donor's sister) [b. 1932], were able to leave Germany in August 1939 for England. Ruth and Marianne were wearing thin gold bracelets on their wrists and each carried a doll. The German guard at the Dutch border tore off the bracelets, but did not pay any attention to the dolls. Upon arrival in New York on September 10, 1940, Annie took the heads off the dolls, in which she had hidden valuables. She sold the valuables and used the money to rescue her parents from Germany. Also included in the collection are additional clothing for the doll and "Kleine Bibel" a children's Bible carried by Ruth from Munich.

Doll overalls and sweater set

Object

Light green yarn overalls and sweater set for a doll handmade by Annie Loewenstein (donor's mother) in Munich, Germany. The Loewenstein family: Willy (donor's father) [b. 1894], Annie [b. 1904], Ruth (donor) [b. 1929], and Marianne (donor's sister) [b. 1932], were able to leave Germany in August 1939 for England. Ruth and Marianne were wearing thin gold bracelets on their wrists and each carried a doll. The German guard at the Dutch border tore off the bracelets, but did not pay any attention to the dolls. Upon arrival in New York on September 10, 1940, Annie took the heads off the dolls, in which she had hidden valuables. She sold the valuables and used the money to rescue her parents from Germany. Also included in the collection are additional clothing for the doll and "Kleine Bibel" a children's Bible carried by Ruth from Munich.

Doll undergarment

Object

Light pink yarn underpants for a doll handmade by Annie Loewenstein (donor's mother) in Munich, Germany. The Loewenstein family: Willy (donor's father) [b. 1894], Annie [b. 1904], Ruth (donor) [b. 1929], and Marianne (donor's sister) [b. 1932], were able to leave Germany in August 1939 for England. Ruth and Marianne were wearing thin gold bracelets on their wrists and each carried a doll. The German guard at the Dutch border tore off the bracelets, but did not pay any attention to the dolls. Upon arrival in New York on September 10, 1940, Annie took the heads off the dolls, in which she had hidden valuables. She sold the valuables and used the money to rescue her parents from Germany. Also included in the collection are additional clothing for the doll and "Kleine Bibel" a children's Bible carried by Ruth from Munich.

Doll apron

Object

Floral patterned apron for a doll handmade by Annie Loewenstein (donor's mother) in Munich, Germany. The Loewenstein family: Willy (donor's father) [b. 1894], Annie [b. 1904], Ruth (donor) [b. 1929], and Marianne (donor's sister) [b. 1932], were able to leave Germany in August 1939 for England. Ruth and Marianne were wearing thin gold bracelets on their wrists and each carried a doll. The German guard at the Dutch border tore off the bracelets, but did not pay any attention to the dolls. Upon arrival in New York on September 10, 1940, Annie took the heads off the dolls, in which she had hidden valuables. She sold the valuables and used the money to rescue her parents from Germany. Also included in the collection are additional clothing for the doll and "Kleine Bibel" a children's Bible carried by Ruth from Munich.

Ruth Loewenstein papers

Document

The Ruth Loewenstein papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, and photographs documenting the Loewenstein family from Munich, the family haberdashery business called JKA, Willy Loewenstein’s military service during World War I, his imprisonment in Dachau following Kristallnacht, the family’s flight to England, their immigration to the United States, and their embroidered handkerchief business Wil-Low Handkerchiefs in America. Biographical materials include identification papers, military papers, and immigration records documenting the Loewenstein family, Willy Loewenstein’s service during World War I, the family haberdashery business in Munich, their flight to England and immigration to the United States, and the sale of jewelry Annie hid in her daughters’ dolls so it would not be confiscated during the family’s departure from Germany. Correspondence includes postcards and receipts from Willy as a prisoner at Dachau, Gestapo letters documenting Annie’s attempt to obtain Willy’s release from Dachau as a wounded World War I veteran and his subsequent obligation to attempt to emigrate, letters from Ruth and Marianne to their parents describing their life in Northampton, letters documenting Willy’s loss of German citizenship and veteran pension benefits when he emigrated to England, letters from Annie’s parents as they immigrated to the United States in 1941, and a letter from the Mitchell family who housed Ruth and Marianne during the blitz. Photographs depict the Loewenstein family’s haberdashery store JKA in Munich, the Loewenstein family primarily before the war, and the Loewenstein’s American handkerchief business Wil-Low Handkerchiefs.

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Military pin received by Willy Loewenstein after his military service during WWI

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Military pin received by Willy Loewenstein after his military service during WWI

Wooden clothing hanger

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Bible

Object

"Kleine Bibel" a children's Bible carried by Ruth Loewenstein from Munich. The Loewenstein family: Willy (donor's father) [b. 1894], Annie [b. 1904], Ruth (donor) [b. 1929], and Marianne (donor's sister) [b. 1932], were able to leave Germany in August 1939 for England. valuables and used the money to rescue her parents from Germany.