Handmade Star of David pendant given to an American liberator by a Polish Jewish slave laborer

Marvin Dorf (1923-2006) was born in the Bronx, New York City, to Adolf (1894-1982) and Rose (nee Goldman, 1899-?) Dorf. Rose had emigrated from Russia in 1906, and Adolf emigrated from Austria in 1914, and found work as a tinsmith. Marvin had two older sisters, Sylvia (later Katz, 1920-2008) and Mildred (later Borgerson, 1921-?), as well as a younger sister, Estelle (later Rosenberg, 1928-2006).

While Britain and France declared war on Germany in September 1939, the United States remained neutral until the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Germany declared war on the United States on December 11. Marvin completed three years of high school, and worked as a metal smith before enlisting as a private in the army on October 24, 1942. He was assigned to Troop E of the 92nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squad (Mechanized), 12th Armored Division. The 92nd consisted of four recon troops, an assault gun troop, and a light tank company. Troop E served as the assault gun troop. On September 20, 1944, the squadron embarked from New York, arriving in England in early October. In November, they left England for Le Havre, France. Beginning on March 18, 1945, they took part in the drive to the Rhine River in Germany, and crossed it on March 28.

In April 1945, Marvin’s unit was near Munich, Germany, and he was sent out on reconnaissance because he spoke German. In one town, he learned of a disabled train that had been damaged by American planes and was being guarded by soldiers. The captain allowed him to take a group of men with him to investigate the train, and they easily ran off the German guards with little force. When Marvin and his group opened the train doors, they were met with the sight of hundreds of sick and dying prisoners from a German labor camp. Some of the prisoners died almost immediately, while others died after eating rations from the American soldiers, which were too rich for the malnourished prisoners to digest.

Marvin also spoke Yiddish, so when one of the men on the train asked Marvin to write a letter to his brother, who happened to live a few blocks from his home in New York, he was able to understand the request and do so. Other prisoners that interacted with Marvin were a young Polish woman and her younger sister, who had been badly injured in a munitions factory accident. The older sister gave him a handmade Star of David necklace, which she had hidden in a secret hem in her skirt.

Marvin was also part of the American forces that liberated Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945. The 12th Armored Division was relieved on May 4 (three days before Germany surrendered to the Allies),, and assigned to security duty until November 22, when they sailed from Marseille back to the United States. Marvin was released from the Army on December 5, 1945. Following the war, he worked as a sheet metal draftsman and later in the air conditioning industry. He had two children with his wife, Lorraine (1932-2018). After his retirement, the couple moved to Boca Raton, Florida, where Marvin lived until his death.