Overview
- Description
- Contains photographs, identity documents from Israel, correspondence, and a memoir related to Simon Beer, originally of Brno, Czechoslovakia, and his extended family.
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Maud Michal Stecklmacher Beer
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Personal narratives. Letters. Photographs.
- Extent
-
1 box
1 oversize box
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Geographic Name
- Brno (Czech Republic)
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Gift of Maud Michal Beer, 2012.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 17:44:39
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn58779
Download & Licensing
- In Copyright - Use Permitted
- Terms of Use
- This record is not digitized and cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Request 7 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
Contact Us
Also in Maud Michal Beer family collection
The collection consists of a sewing box, two pillowcases, six tablecloths, correspondence, documents, photographs, and a siddur relating to the experiences of Käthe Steiner Stecklmacher, her daughters, Maud and Karmela, and her family before the Holocaust in Prostejov, Czechosloavakia, during the Holocaust in Theresienstadt ghetto/labor camp, as well as to the experiences of Shimon Beer and his family in Brno and Prostejov and his service in the Jewish Brigade before, during, and after the Holocaust.
Date: approximately 1939-1950
Red leather sewing box recovered postwar by a Czech Jewish woman
Object
Red leather sewing box made for Käthe Stecklmacher by her father Max Steiner and preserved by her daughter Maud. Max and his brother Josef operated a custom leather goods business started by their father. Käthe gave the box to non-Jewish neighbors for safekeeping before her July 1942 deportation from Prostejov, Czechoslovakia, to Ghetto Theresienstadt. She recovered the box when she returned to Prostejov in May 1945. On July 2, 1942, Käthe, her husband Fritz, her two daughters, Maud, 13, and Karmela, 8, her parents Max and Steffi Steiner, and her uncle and cousin, Josef and Gustav Steiner, were sent to Thereseinstadt. On July 28, Gustav, 16, and Josef were sent to Baranowicze, Poland, where they were murdered upon arrival. Max died on September 17. Fritz committed suicide in Terezin on May 30, 1943. Käthe was assigned to the glimmer factory, separating the mineral mica in flakes used for electrical insulation. Mica was essential to the German war effort, so she and her immediate family were protected temporarily from deportation to camps further east. Steffi was deported to Auschwitz and murdered in October 1944. Theresienstadt was liberated by Soviet troops on May 9, 1945. Käthe, Maud, and Karmela returned to Prostejov. They left for Israel in March 1949.
Deutsche Gebete zum Gebrauche bei der häuslichen und öffentlichen Andacht [Book]
Object
German prayer book inscribed for Maud Stecklmacher, 14, by her father Fritz in February 1943 when the family was imprisoned in Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. It includes a photograph with black tape to mark his death in May 1943. On July 2, 1942, Maud, her parents, Fritz and Käthe, her younger sister Karmela, 8, her grandparents Max and Steffi Steiner, and her uncle and cousin, Josef and Gustav Steiner, were sent from Prosjetov to Thereseinstadt. On July 28, Gustav, 16, and Josef were deported to Baranowicze, Poland, and murdered upon arrival. Max died on September 17. Fritz committed suicide on May 30, 1943. Käthe was assigned to the glimmer factory, separating the mineral mica into flakes used for electrical insulation. Mica was essential to the German war effort, so she and her immediate family were protected temporarily from deportation to camps further east. Steffi was deported to Auschwitz and murdered in October 1944. Theresienstadt was liberated by Soviet troops on May 9, 1945. Käthe, Maud, and Karmela returned to Prostejov. They left for Israel in March 1949.
White lace pillowcase returned to Czech Jewish concentration camp inmates postwar
Object
Pillowcase originally from the home of Josef Steiner that was returned to Maud Stecklmacher, his maternal great niece, after the war by their non-Jewish neighbors Muzikant and Sevcik to whom he had entrusted it before his July 1942 deportation from Prostejov, Czechoslovakia. It was one of several linens saved and recovered (2005.342.5). Prostejov was annexed and occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1939. On July 2, 1942, Maud, 13, her parents Fritz and Käthe, her sister Karmela, 8, her grandparents Max and Steffi Steiner, and Josef and his son Gustav, 16, were sent to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp. On July 28, Gustav, 16, and Josef were sent to Baranowicze, Poland, where they were murdered upon arrival. Max died on September 17. Fritz committed suicide on May 30, 1943. Käthe was assigned to the glimmer factory, splitting mineral mica into flakes used for electrical insulation. Mica was essential to the German war effort, so she and her immediate family were protected temporarily from deportation to camps further east. Steffi was deported to Auschwitz and murdered in October 1944. Theresienstadt was liberated by Soviet troops on May 9, 1945. Käthe, Maud, and Karmela returned to Prostejov. They left for Israel in March 1949.
White pillowcase with lace and an MS monogram returned to Czech Jewish concentration camp inmates postwar
Object
Pillowcase originally from the home of Josef Steiner that was returned to Maud Stecklmacher, his maternal great niece, after the war by their non-Jewish neighbors Muzikant and Sevcik to whom he had entrusted it before his July 1942 deportation from Prostejov, Czechoslovakia. It was one of several linens saved and recovered (2005.342.4). Prostejov was annexed and occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1939. On July 2, 1942, Maud, 13, her parents Fritz and Käthe, her sister Karmela, 8, her grandparents Max and Steffi Steiner, and Josef and his son Gustav, 16, were sent to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp. On July 28, Gustav, 16, and Josef were sent to Baranowicze, Poland, where they were murdered upon arrival. Max died on September 17. Fritz committed suicide on May 30, 1943. Käthe was assigned to the glimmer factory, splitting mineral mica into flakes used for electrical insulation. Mica was essential to the German war effort, so she and her immediate family were protected temporarily from deportation to camps further east. Steffi was deported to Auschwitz and murdered in October 1944. Theresienstadt was liberated by Soviet troops on May 9, 1945. Käthe, Maud, and Karmela returned to Prostejov. They left for Israel in March 1949.
Circular white tablecloth saved by a by Czech Jewish refugee
Object
White linen tablecloth used by Shimon Beer's family in prewar Brno, Czechoslovakia. It was one of several tablecloths, 2012.342.6-11, preserved by his aunt Bertl in Great Britain. Brno was annexed and occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1939. Shimon, 19, left in December 1939 for Palestine, where he joined the Jewish Brigade of the British Army. His parents, Julius and Hildegarde, were deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor, and then to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where they were murdered. His brother Pavel survived both camps.
Rectangular white tablecloth saved by a by Czech Jewish refugee
Object
White linen tablecloth used by Shimon Beer's family in prewar Brno, Czechoslovakia. It was one of several tablecloths, 2012.342.6-11, preserved by his aunt Bertl in Great Britain. Brno was annexed and occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1939. Shimon, 19, left in December 1939 for Palestine, where he joined the Jewish Brigade of the British Army. His parents, Julius and Hildegarde, were deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor, and then to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where they were murdered. His brother Pavel survived both camps.
White cotton tablecloth with floral motifs saved by a by Czech Jewish refugee
Object
White linen tablecloth used by Shimon Beer's family in prewar Brno, Czechoslovakia. It was one of several tablecloths, (2012.342.6,7, 9-11), preserved by his aunt Bertl in Great Britain. Brno was annexed and occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1939. Shimon, 19, left in December 1939 for Palestine, where he joined the Jewish Brigade of the British Army. His parents, Julius and Hildegarde, were deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor, and then to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where they were murdered. His brother Pavel survived both camps.
Square white tablecloth with floral motifs saved by a by Czech Jewish refugee
Object
White linen tablecloth used by Shimon Beer's family in prewar Brno, Czechoslovakia. It was one of several tablecloths, 2012.342.6-11, preserved by his aunt Bertl in Great Britain. Brno was annexed and occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1939. Shimon, 19, left in December 1939 for Palestine, where he joined the Jewish Brigade of the British Army. His parents, Julius and Hildegarde, were deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor, and then to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where they were murdered. His brother Pavel survived both camps.
Square white cotton tablecloth saved by a by Czech Jewish refugee
Object
White linen tablecloth used by Shimon Beer's family in prewar Brno, Czechoslovakia. It was one of several tablecloths, (2012.342.6-9,11), preserved by his aunt Bertl in Great Britain. Brno was annexed and occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1939. Shimon, 19, left in December 1939 for Palestine, where he joined the Jewish Brigade of the British Army. His parents, Julius and Hildegarde, were deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor, and then to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where they were murdered. His brother Pavel survived both camps.
Square white cotton tablecloth saved by a by Czech Jewish refugee
Object
White linen tablecloth used by Shimon Beer's family in prewar Brno, Czechoslovakia. It was one of several tablecloths, (2012.342.6-10), preserved by his aunt Bertl in Great Britain. Brno was annexed and occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1939. Shimon, 19, left in December 1939 for Palestine, where he joined the Jewish Brigade of the British Army. His parents, Julius and Hildegarde, were deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor, and then to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where they were murdered. His brother Pavel survived both camps.