Overview
- Brief Narrative
- A tallit owned by a male member of Ilse Brilling or Horst Abraham’s family, and carried from Germany to Ecuador in the late 1930s. A tallit is a specialized shawl worn by Orthodox Jewish males during morning prayers. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. Horst Abraham immigrated to Ecuador from Leipzig, Germany, in 1937, after hearing a rumor that he might be arrested. His parents, Nanette and David, and one of his two brothers, Kurt, joined him there later. In 1939, Ilse Brilling left Rastenburg, Germany and immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador with her parents, Hedwig and Isidor, and older sister, Hilde. Ilse’s father died that same year, and the family moved to Quito, where she met Horst. The couple married on March 3, 1944, and they had their first child in 1946. Ilse, Horst, and their other family members living in Ecuador immigrated to the United States in the mid-to-late 1940s and settled in the New York City area. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Many members of their extended families were not able to escape from Europe and died during the Holocaust.
- Date
-
emigration:
after 1937-1939 May
- Geography
-
acquired:
Germany.
en route: Ecuador.
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ruth Abraham
- Markings
- atarah, woven band, white thread : [Hebrew characters] [(Barukh ata adonai elohenu melekh ha-'olam asher kidshanu be-mitsvotav ve-tsivanu lehit'atef be-tsitsit) Blessed are you oh God, King of the Universe Who has sanctified us with his commandments, and commanded us to wrap ourselves with tzitzit]
corner patches, embroidered, turquoise thread : וזרתם את נל מצוה / תפלה כתר / יחםיון כנפיך כצל [(Vezechartem et kol hamitzvah) And you shall remember all the commandments / (Keter Tefilah) Crown of Prayer / (Betzel Kenafecha Yechesyun) Shelter us in the shade of your wings] - Contributor
-
Subject:
Ilse Abraham
Subject: Horst Abraham
- Biography
-
Ilse Brilling (1927-2016) was born to Hedwig (nee, Finkenstein, 1891-1959) and Isidor (1895-1939) Brilling in Rastenburg, Germany (now Kętrzyn, Poland). Hedwig was born in Molthainen, East Prussia (now Mołtajny, Poland), and had four brothers and three sisters. Isidor was also born in East Prussia, and had at least two brothers and six sisters. Following World War I, Isidor received an iron cross for his service in the German army. He began selling raw materials, such as furs and metals, which he grew into a successful business with employees. Ilse had one sister, Hildegard or Hilde (later Baum, 1923-2010), whom she was not close to as a child. The family lived a comfortable lifestyle in a two-bedroom apartment above stores that they rented out. They also had two maids and a car, which they used often to visit her paternal grandmother. As a child, Ilse was extremely shy and very close to her mother, but had a distant relationship with her father. Although Rastenburg was a small town, it had a large Jewish congregation. Hedwig prepared a big Shabbat dinner every week, and Ilse would often help her in the kitchen. Ilse’s parents regularly entertained friends in their home, and one year hosted a Christmas and Hanukkah party for their employees.
On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Anti-Jewish decrees were passed that restricted every aspect of Jewish life. Almost immediately, the 117 Jews in Rastenburg were barred from movie theaters, swimming pools, and businesses, including the stores Ilse’s parents rented out. Ilse lost her only friend, a girl from a gentile family who joined the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls), a Nazi girls’ group.
On November 9, 1938, during the Kristallnacht pogrom, stores run by Jews were destroyed and their synagogues were burned down. Isidor was arrested by the SS and imprisoned in Mitgeten. A relative living in the United States sent him an affidavit, which Hedwig took along with the Iron Cross medal awarded for his service during World War I, and was able to get Isidor out of jail. Even after his release, Isidor did not leave without his family. The day after Kristallnacht, Hilde returned to Rastenburg from Konigsberg, where she had been apprenticed as a seamstress. Hedwig registered the girls for a kindertransport to England, but they were never assigned to one.
Early in 1939, Isidor acquired visas for the family to immigrate to Uruguay. Shortly thereafter, their house, accounts, and assets were seized by the government, and they lost the crates of belongings they had shipped to South America. Shortly before leaving, however, they were notified that their visas were forgeries. After several weeks of visiting many consulates, Isidor obtained visas for Ecuador. They boarded the SS Caribia and sailed from Hamburg, Germany, in May 1939, and were given second-class cabins, even though they had paid for first-class.
After landing in the industrial city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, the family moved to Riobamba, and then a nearby village called Chambo, where they rented a large house and land for farming. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland; two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany, beginning World War II. Emigrating from Europe became increasingly difficult, as few nations were accepting Jewish refugees, and there was little opportunity to help those left behind. At the end of December, Ilse’s father, Isidor, received an upsetting letter from his mother that he did not show his children. That day, he went on an errand to Riobamba, where he died of a heart attack. No longer able to make a living on the farm, Hedwig moved the family to rented rooms in Riobamba. They later moved to Ambato, where Hilde married a man named Albert Baum (?-1996). While in Ambato, Ilse attended school for a year, and became fluent in Spanish.
The family then moved to Ecuador’s capital, Quito, and met Horst Abraham (1917-2003), who worked in a small German delicatessen. Horst had immigrated to Ecuador from Leipzig, Germany in 1937, when he heard a rumor that he might be arrested. His parents, Nanette (1881-1960) and David (1881-1958), and his brother Kurt (1910-2005) followed him to Ecuador a few years later. Another brother named Max (?-1998?) immigrated to South Africa. The immigrant community in Quito was very close-knit. They had a clubhouse called the Beneficiencia, which served as a major center of Jewish life, with a restaurant, card rooms, dances, and plays. Hedwig began doing their baking, often with Ilse’s help. The immigrants in Quito also had many businesses, movie theaters, a sports club, and a dance club. Like all of the other immigrant families, the Brillings shopped at the delicatessen regularly, and Horst eventually asked Ilse on a date. After a year of courtship, the couple got engaged. They married the following year on March 3, 1944. Ilse worked as an apprentice in a beauty parlor, and then began doing hair and manicures in private homes. Horst took over management of the delicatessen where he worked.
Germany surrendered to the Allied forces on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe. That September, Japan surrendered, ending the war in the Pacific. In May 1946, Hilde and her husband immigrated to the United States. That August, Hedwig’s sister and niece, Claire Brummer (1892-1978) and Ingeborg Majewski (later Price, b. 1927), joined them in Quito, having survived the war in France. Hedwig and Claire immigrated to the United States in November 1947. Ingeborg married in 1947 and immigrated to the US in 1951 with her husband and child. In 1948, Ilse and her family also immigrated, joining the rest of their family in Brooklyn, New York. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Ilse got a job as a manicurist, and they had another son, Stephen, in 1951.
Horst Abraham (1917-2003) was born in Leipzig, Germany, to Nanette (nee, Neumeyer, 1881-1960) and David (1881-1958) Abraham. He had two brothers, Kurt (1910-2005) and Max (?-1998). Horst lived in Leipzig until he heard a rumor that he might be arrested, and immigrated to Ecuador in 1937. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland; two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany, beginning World War II. Emigrating from Europe became increasingly difficult, as few nations were accepting Jewish refugees, and there was little opportunity to help those left behind. Horst’s parents were able to join him the following year, arriving in December 1940, via Japan and Panama. Kurt also followed them there, while Max immigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he married.
In Ecuador’s capital, Quito, the immigrant community was very close-knit. They had a clubhouse called the Beneficiencia, which served as a major center of Jewish life, with a restaurant, card rooms, dances, and plays. The immigrants in Quito also had many businesses, movie theaters, a sports club, and a dance club. Horst worked for a time as a waiter at the ‘Beni’ before obtaining a job in a small German delicatessen, where he met Ilse Brilling (1927-2016). Ilse had immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador in 1939 with her parents, Hedwig (1891-1959) and Isidor (1895-1939), and sister, Hilde (1923-2010). Isidor died in December 1939, and the family moved twice before settling in Quito in 1942. Like other immigrant families, the Brillings shopped at the delicatessen regularly, and Horst eventually asked Ilse on a date. After a year of courtship, the couple got engaged. They married the following year on March 3, 1944. Ilse had worked as an apprentice in a beauty parlor and then began doing hair and manicures in private homes. Horst took over management of the delicatessen where he worked.
Germany surrendered to the Allied forces on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe. That September, Japan surrendered, ending the war in the Pacific. In May 1946, Host’s sister-in-law, Hilde, and her husband immigrated to the United States, settling in Brooklyn, New York. That same year, Horst’s brother, Kurt, and his family immigrated to the United States, and Ilse and Horst’s first child, Ruth, was born in Ecuador. That August, his mother-in-law’s sister and niece, Claire Brummer and Ingeborg Majewski, joined them in Quito, having survived the war in France. Horst’s parents, David and Nannette, immigrated to the United States in July 1947; Hedwig and Claire immigrated followed in November. Horst and Ilse sold their deli and followed in 1948. Horst changed his name to Harry, and they settled near their families in Brooklyn, New York. Ilse got a job as a manicurist, while Harry worked in a meatpacking factory owned by distant relatives. In 1951, they had a son, Stephen.
Physical Details
- Language
- Hebrew
- Classification
-
Jewish Art and Symbolism
- Category
-
Jewish ceremonial objects
- Object Type
-
Tallitot (Jewish liturgical objects) (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Ceremonial objects.
- Physical Description
- Long, rectangular, shiny off-white cloth shawl with symmetrical sets of blue stripes and tzittzit on each end. The ends have a wide blue, central stripe flanked by two blue pinstripes and a set of eight narrow blue stripes on each side, alternating with white. The edge of each end has a row of several strings that have been folded over, threaded through holes, and knotted in multiple places to create a crisscrossing fringe. Each corner is backed with a reinforcing square patch of off-white fabric and a turquoise embroidered design. The patch has a floral frame surrounding an unrolled scroll with a line of Hebrew text, a crown, a line of large Hebrew text with a Star of David in the center, an open book flanked by floral bouquets, and a small line of Hebrew text at the bottom. In the middle of the Star of David, a hole is cut through both layers and reinforced with thread stitching. Threaded through each hole is a tzitzit, an intricately knotted tassel formed from several folded and bundled strings. One long edge is machine finished with an overlock stitch. Centered along the opposite long edge is a white brocade atarah [neck band], a rectangular ribbon with pointed ends, embroidered with white Hebrew text. The corner threads are frayed, and the edges, tassels, and fringe are lightly soiled. The turquoise thread has bled its color, heavily staining the corner patches and leaving smaller stains all over the tallit. There are brown stains on the back of the atarah, and the off-white fabric has overall discoloration.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 16.075 inches (40.831 cm) | Width: 60.750 inches (154.305 cm)
- Materials
- overall : cloth, thread, string
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Antisemitism--Germany. Emigration and immigration--Ecuador. Emigration and immigration--Germany. Emigration and immigration--United States. Families. Judaism--Customs and practices. Judaism--Liturgical Objects. Refugee children.
- Geographic Name
- Leipzig, Germany. Quito (Ecuador) Rastenburg, Germany.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The tallit were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by Ruth Abraham, the daughter of Ilse and Horst Abraham.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-10-03 12:48:33
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn562523
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Also in Ilse and Horst (Harry) Abraham collection
The collection consists of documents, correspondence, photographs, a passport with case, books, an album, a set of tefillin, and tallit relating to the experiences of Ruth Abraham, her parents, Ilse and Horst Abraham, her grandparents, Hedwig and Isidor Brilling, and her aunt, Hildegard Brilling, in Germany and Ecuador before, during, and after the Holocaust.
Date: 1885-2011
Pair of tefillin and pouch owned by a German Jewish man
Object
A pair of tefillin and pouch owned by a male member of Ilse Brilling or Horst Abraham’s family, and carried from Germany to Ecuador in the late 1930s. Tefillin are small boxes containing prayers attached to leather straps and worn by Orthodox Jewish males during morning prayers. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. Horst Abraham immigrated to Quito, Ecuador, from Leipzig, Germany, in 1937, after hearing a rumor that he might be arrested. His parents, Nanette and David, and one of his two brothers, Kurt, joined him there later. In 1939, Ilse Brilling left Rastenburg, Germany and immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador with her parents, Hedwig and Isidor, and older sister, Hilde. Ilse’s father died that same year, and the family moved twice before settling in Quito in 1942, where she met Horst. The couple married on March 3, 1944, and had their first child in 1946. Ilse, Horst, and their other family members living in Ecuador immigrated to the United States in the mid-to-late 1940s and settled in the New York City area. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Many members of their extended families were not able to escape from Europe and died during the Holocaust.
Ilse and Horst Abraham papers
Document
The Ilse and Horst Abraham papers include biographical materials, correspondence, and photographs documenting Ilse Abraham from Rastenburg, Germany, Horst (Harry) Abraham from Leipzig, Germany, their families, their immigration to Ecuador in the late 1930s, their daughter, Ruth, and their immigration to the United States in 1948. Biographical materials include Ilse Abraham’s personal narrative about her years in Germany and South America and immigration to the United States in 1948, and a passport, birth certificate, family tree, and three mourning books documenting Ilse’s family in Germany. Correspondence includes a brief note from Ilse’s cousin Inge (“Puppi”) to her father, a 1943 letter from Ilse to Horst in Ambato, two postwar letters about the Jewish community in Rastenburg, Germany, and a 2009 letter from Inge to Ilse about family photographs. Photographs document Inge’s and Harry’s prewar lives in Germany and wartime lives in Ecuador.
Passport holder, carried to Ecuador by a German Jewish woman
Object
Passport case belonging to Hedwig Brilling and carried from Rastenburg, Germany to Ecuador in 1939. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. Early in 1939, Isidor acquired visas for the family to immigrate to Uruguay. Shortly thereafter, their house, accounts, and assets were seized by the government, and they lost the crates of belongings they had shipped to South America. Shortly before leaving, however, they were notified that their visas were forgeries. After several weeks of visiting consulates, Isidor was able to obtain visas for Ecuador. They sailed from Hamburg, Germany, in May 1939, and were given second-class cabins, even though they had paid for first-class. They settled in a village called Chambo, and tried to make a living farming, but Isidor died in December of that year. Hedwig and her daughters moved multiple times before settling in Quito in 1942. While in Ecuador, both daughters married. In May 1946, Hilde and her husband immigrated to the United States, and in August, Hedwig’s sister and niece, Claire and Ingeborg, joined the family in Quito, having survived the war in France. Hedwig and Claire immigrated to the United States in November 1947, and Hedwig settled near Hilde’s family in Brooklyn, New York. Ilse and her family joined them in 1948; Ingeborg and her family also immigrated in 1951.
German prayer book, carried to Ecuador by a German Jewish refugee family
Object
Die Psalmen Davids book, owned by a member of Ilse Brilling or Horst Abraham’s family, and carried from Germany to Ecuador in the late 1930s. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. Horst Abraham immigrated to Ecuador from Leipzig, Germany, in 1937, after hearing a rumor that he might be arrested. His parents, Nanette and David, and one of his two brothers, Kurt, joined him there later. In 1939, Ilse Brilling left Rastenburg, Germany and immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador with her parents, Hedwig and Isidor, and older sister, Hilde. Ilse’s father died that same year, and the family moved to Quito, where she met Horst. The couple married on March 3, 1944, and they had their first child in 1946. Ilse, Horst, and their other family members living in Ecuador immigrated to the United States in the mid-to-late 1940s and settled in the New York City area. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Many members of their extended families were not able to escape from Europe and died during the Holocaust.
Hebrew prayer book, carried to Ecuador by a German Jewish refugee family
Object
Siddur S'fat Emet book, owned by a member of Ilse Brilling’s family, and carried from Germany to Ecuador in the late 1930s. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. In 1939, Ilse Brilling left Rastenburg, Germany and immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador with her parents, Hedwig and Isidor, and older sister, Hilde. Ilse’s father died that same year, and the family moved to Quito, where she met Horst Abraham. Horst immigrated to Ecuador from Leipzig, Germany, in 1937, after hearing a rumor that he might be arrested. His parents, Nanette and David, and one of his two brothers, Kurt, joined him there later. The couple married on March 3, 1944, and they had their first child in 1946. Ilse, Horst, and their other family members living in Ecuador immigrated to the United States in the mid-to-late 1940s and settled in the New York City area. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Many members of their extended families were not able to escape from Europe and died during the Holocaust.
Hebrew prayer book, carried to Ecuador by a German Jewish refugee family
Object
Machzor l'Yom Rishon v'Sheni shel Pesach im tirgum ashkenazi book, owned by a member of Ilse Brilling or Horst Abraham’s family, and carried from Germany to Ecuador in the late 1930s. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. Horst Abraham immigrated to Ecuador from Leipzig, Germany, in 1937, after hearing a rumor that he might be arrested. His parents, Nanette and David, and one of his two brothers, Kurt, joined him there later. In 1939, Ilse Brilling left Rastenburg, Germany and immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador with her parents, Hedwig and Isidor, and older sister, Hilde. Ilse’s father died that same year, and the family moved to Quito, where she met Horst. The couple married on March 3, 1944, and they had their first child in 1946. Ilse, Horst, and their other family members living in Ecuador immigrated to the United States in the mid-to-late 1940s and settled in the New York City area. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Many members of their extended families were not able to escape from Europe and died during the Holocaust.
Prayer Hebrew prayer book, carried to Ecuador by a German Jewish refugee
Object
Die Thora und die Sprache book, owned by Horst Abraham and carried from Germany to Ecuador in the late 1930s. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. Horst Abraham immigrated to Ecuador from Leipzig, Germany, in 1937, after hearing a rumor that he might be arrested. Horst's parents, Nanette and David, and one of his two brothers, Kurt, joined him there later. In 1942, Horst met Ilse Brilling, who immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador in 1939 with her parents, Hedwig and Isidor, and older sister, Hilde. Ilse’s father died in 1939, and the family moved to Quito in 1942. Ilse married Horst on March 3, 1944, and they had their first child in 1946. Ilse, Horst, and their other family members living in Ecuador immigrated to the United States in the mid-to-late 1940s and settled in the New York City area. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Many members of their extended families were not able to escape from Europe and died during the Holocaust.
Hebrew prayer book, carried to Ecuador by a German Jewish refugee
Object
Tefilot B'nei Yisrael book, owned by Horst Abraham and carried from Germany to Ecuador in the late 1930s. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. Horst Abraham immigrated to Ecuador from Leipzig, Germany, in 1937, after hearing a rumor that he might be arrested. Horst's parents, Nanette and David, and one of his two brothers, Kurt, joined him there later. In 1942, Horst met Ilse Brilling, who immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador in 1939 with her parents, Hedwig and Isidor, and older sister, Hilde. Ilse’s father died in 1939, and the family moved to Quito in 1942. Ilse married Horst on March 3, 1944, and they had their first child in 1946. Ilse, Horst, and their other family members living in Ecuador immigrated to the United States in the mid-to-late 1940s and settled in the New York City area. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Many members of their extended families were not able to escape from Europe and died during the Holocaust.
Hebrew prayer book, carried to Ecuador by a German Jewish refugee family
Object
Siddur Tefilot Kol ha-Shanah book, owned by a member of Ilse Brilling or Horst Abraham’s family, and carried from Germany to Ecuador in the late 1930s. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, anti-Jewish decrees and persecution made life in Germany increasingly difficult. Horst Abraham immigrated to Ecuador from Leipzig, Germany, in 1937, after hearing a rumor that he might be arrested. Horst's parents, Nanette and David, and one of his two brothers, Kurt, joined him there later. In 1939, Ilse Brilling left Rastenburg, Germany and immigrated to Chambo, Ecuador with her parents, Hedwig and Isidor, and older sister, Hilde. Ilse’s father died that same year, and the family moved to Quito, where she met Horst. The couple married on March 3, 1944, and they had their first child in 1946. Ilse, Horst, and their other family members living in Ecuador immigrated to the United States in the mid-to-late 1940s and settled in the New York City area. Horst changed his name to Harry, and got a job working in a meatpacking factory owned by his distant relatives. Many members of their extended families were not able to escape from Europe and died during the Holocaust.