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Pitcher made from an Eatonia Brand butter can and used by an American internee

Object | Accession Number: 2018.426.9

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    Pitcher made from an Eatonia Brand butter can and used by an American internee

    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Can of Eatonia Brand butter repurposed as a pitcher and used by Leonie Roualet, while she was interned in Vittel internment camp in German-occupied France from September 1942 through September 1944. Leonie was born in New York to Leonie Calmesse and Henry Charles Roualet, French champagne vintners who had immigrated to the United States in the 1890s. In the 1930s, Leonie’s mother returned to France to take care of her ailing brother. While caring for her brother, she too became sick, and in 1939 Leonie traveled to France to take care of her mother and her uncle. In May 1940, Germany invaded France and occupied the northern half of the country. Leonie’s sister, Henriette, began to worry about the fate of her mother and sister as she struggled to contact them, and she wrote repeatedly to the U.S. State Department for information on their whereabouts. In November, she received a telegram stating that her mother was in a hospital in Bordeaux, while Leonie was living with their uncle in Épernay. On September 24, 1942, the Gestapo arrested Leonie as an enemy alien and sent her to a prison in Châlons. From there she was transferred to Frontstalag 194 in Vittel. She remained there for two years until the camp was liberated by Free French forces on September 12, 1944. Immediately following liberation, Leonie worked for the Red Cross and helped establish the first displaced persons (DP) camp in Paris. In December 1945, Leonie returned to the United States, accompanying a convoy of refugees at the request of the American Embassy.
    Date
    use:  1942 September-1944 September
    Geography
    use: Vittel (Concentration camp); Vittel (France)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mark Roualet
    Markings
    can, front & back, printed, yellow & blue ink : Eatonia / TRADE MARK REG’D. / BRAND / Creamery Butter / FIRST GRADE / NET WEIGHT … ONE POUND / THE T. EATON CO LIMITED / TORONTO CANADA
    Contributor
    Subject: Leonie B. Roualet
    Manufacturer: T. Eaton Company Ltd.
    Biography
    Leonie Berthe Roualet (1900-1978) was born in Hammondsport, New York to Leonie (née Calmesse, 1869-1942) and Henry Charles Roualet (1866-?). Leonie and Henry were both originally from France, where they worked as champagne vintners. They immigrated to New York in 1890, where they continued to work as wine merchants. Leonie Berthe was raised Catholic and had two older brothers, Georges (George, 1891-1951) and Andre (Andrew, 1894-1973), and one older sister, Henriette (1898-1969). Georges served in the U.S. Navy during World War I aboard the USS Wisconsin. After the war, the entire family moved from New York to Cleveland, Ohio.

    In the 1930s, Leonie’s mother, Leonie Calmesse Roualet, returned to France to take care of her ailing brother. While caring for her brother, she too became sick, and in 1939 Leonie traveled to France to take care of her mother and her uncle. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and two days later France and Britain declared war on Germany, officially starting World War II. In May 1940, Germany invaded France and occupied the northern half of the country. Leonie’s sister, Henriette, began to worry about the fate of her mother and sister as she struggled to contact them, and she wrote repeatedly to the U.S. State Department for information on their whereabouts. In November, she received a telegram stating that her mother was in a hospital in Bordeaux, while her sister was living with their uncle in Épernay.

    On December 11, 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the United States. Following this declaration, German authorities began arresting American citizens in their occupied territories with the hope that they could exchange them with German citizens interned abroad. On September 24, 1942, the Gestapo arrested Leonie as an enemy alien and sent her to a prison in Châlons. From there she was transferred to Frontstalag 194 in the Vittel internment camp. In Vittel, Leonie lived in hotel-like accommodations with running water and heat. She was able to send and receive mail, and accept Red Cross packages. The Germans published propaganda photos and press stories about Vittel to showcase it as representative of conditions in German camps. Despite these improved living conditions in comparison to other German camps, Vittel was still surrounded by barbed wire and constantly patrolled by armed guards. Leonie often suffered from malnutrition while interned in the camp.

    On September 12, 1944, the Vittel internment camp was liberated by Free French forces. Immediately following liberation, Leonie worked for the Red Cross and helped establish the first displaced persons (DP) camp in Paris. In December 1945, Leonie returned to the United States aboard the S.S. Gripsholm, accompanying a convoy of refugees at the request of the American Embassy. She resettled in Cleveland, reuniting with her sister, Henriette. In Cleveland, Leonie continued working for the Red Cross before becoming the director of the diocesan Catholic Resettlement Council when it was established in 1949. Working for the Council, Leonie helped resettle thousands of refugees from wars and political strife around the world.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Classification
    Household Utensils
    Category
    Drinking vessels
    Object Type
    Pitchers (lcsh)
    Genre/Form
    Containers.
    Physical Description
    Can of Eatonia Brand butter repurposed as a small pitcher. The pitcher is a cylindrical can with the upper edge of one side shaped into a spout. A thick piece of metal wire is wrapped around the bottom of the can, converging on the opposite side of the spout. The wire is twisted together, forming a handle in a misshapen half circle. The wire is looped through two holes punched through the can at the top near the rim. There is a blue and yellow label printed around the can with English text on both sides. The bottom of the can is silver colored, and the interior is brass colored. The can is scratched overall, particularly across the bottom, and the interior is lightly rusted.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 5.750 inches (14.605 cm) | Depth: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm)
    Materials
    overall : metal, ink

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The pitcher was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Mark Roualet, nephew of Leonie Roualet.
    Record last modified:
    2023-08-25 13:00:30
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn628044

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