Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Red pouch embroidered with her initials ER used by Elsie Ragusin to carry her prayer book (2016.468.4). She acquired the book, Massime Eterne, in exchange for her food rations while she was a prisoner in Ravensbrück concentration camp. Elsie was born in New York to a couple who had immigrated years earlier to America from Italy. In 1939, the Ragusin family went to Italy on an extended visit. Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies. Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. She was liberated in 1945, and taken to Sweden to recover. She returned to the US in December 1945, and was reunited with her brothers.
- Date
-
use:
1945
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Containers
- Category
-
Bags
- Object Type
-
Pouches (Containers) (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Red cloth pouch with a metal zipper and leather strap. Embroidered on the top left corner are the initials ER inside a heart .
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 4.125 inches (10.478 cm) | Width: 6.125 inches (15.558 cm)
- Materials
- overall : cloth, metal, leather
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The pouch was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016.
- Funding Note
- The acquisition of this artifact was made possible by The Philip and Janet Levin Foundation Family Fund.
The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-09-05 15:24:33
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn556084
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Also in Elsie A. Ragusin Azzinaro collection
The collection consists of a patch, a pouch, three drawings, a prayer book, clippings, correspondence, notes, and photocopies relating to the experiences of Elsie Ragusin during World War II, when, in 1939, on a visit from the United States to Italy with her family, Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies, and Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück concentration camps, and after the war when, after liberation, she was taken to Sweden to recover, and returned to the United States in December 1945.
Elsie Ragusin Azzinaro papers
Document
The collection documents the Holocaust experiences of Elsie Ragusin Azzinaro and her parents Giovanni and Domenica Ragusin in Neresine, Italy (present day Nerezine, Croatia). Correspondence includes a letter written by Elsie in Italian to her mother while in a train boxcar as she was being deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944; letters from the Red Cross regarding the fate of Elsie’s father Giovanni; and postwar letters written to Elsie from Gemma La Guardia Gluck whom she was imprisoned with at Ravensbrück. Other material includes clippings about Gemma La Guardia, a eulogy of Giovanni Ragusin, and a postcard announcing Domenica Ragusin’s return to the United States from Italy in 1947. The notes and family history also include descriptions of drawings made by Elsie while on a train boxcar to Auschwitz and a printout of a survey of the Ragusin property in Neresine. Additionally, there is a copy of an interview regarding a Dutch woman’s experience in Auschwitz.
Red triangle patch embroidered USA worn by an American concentration camp inmate
Object
Red cloth triangle patch worn by Elsie Ragusin, on which she embroidered USA, while imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück concentration camps. Elsie was born in New York to a couple who had immigrated to America from Italy. In 1939, the Ragusin family went to Italy on an extended visit. Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies. Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. She was liberated in 1945, and taken to Sweden to recover. She returned to the US in December 1945, and was reunited with her brothers.
Drawing of a tree by an American concentration camp inmate
Object
Pencil drawing of a tree by Elsie Ragusin, created at an unknown date. Elsie was born in New York to a couple who had immigrated years earlier to America from Italy. In 1939, the Ragusin family went to Italy on an extended visit. Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies. Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück concentration camps. She was liberated in 1945, and taken to Sweden to recover. She returned to the US in December 1945, and was reunited with her brothers.
Drawing of the Virgin Mary by an American concentration camp inmate
Object
Pencil drawing of the Virgin Mary created by Elsie Ragusin while she was a prisoner in Ravensbrück concentration camp in February 1945. Elsie was born in New York to a couple who had immigrated years earlier from Italy to America. In 1939, the Ragusin family went to Italy on an extended visit. Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies. Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. She was liberated in 1945, and taken to Sweden to recover. She returned to the US in December 1945, and was reunited with her brothers.
Drawing of book, heart with cross, and altar by American concentration camp inmate
Object
Pencil drawing of an open book with writing, a heart with a cross, and a lamb on an altar created by Elsie Ragusin, undated. Elsie was born in New York to a couple who had immigrated years earlier from Italy to America. In 1939, the Ragusin family went to Italy on an extended visit. Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies. Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück concentration camps. She was liberated in 1945, and taken to Sweden to recover. She returned to the US in December 1945, and was reunited with her brothers.
Book
Object
Catholic prayer book acquired by Elsie Ragusin in exchange for her food rations while she was a prisoner in Ravensbrück concentration camp. Elsie was born in New York to a couple who had immigrated years earlier from Italy to America. In 1939, the Ragusin family went to Italy on an extended visit. Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies. Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. She was liberated in 1945, and taken to Sweden to recover. She returned to the US in December 1945, and was reunited with her brothers.
