Seeds "Type A"

Object | Accession Number: 2019.183.13

2019.183.13 side b
Seeds "Type A"

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Classification: Materials
Category: Plant materials
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of David Kessler

Materials: overall : seed
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The seeds were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by David Kessler, the son of Arthur Kessler.
Conditions on Access: No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use: No restrictions on use
: Record last modified: 2021-02-10 09:26:17
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn707067

Also in Dr. Arthur Kessler collection

Collection of materials related to Dr. Arthur Kessler, who was interned and worked at Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria, including documents, correspondence, photographs, a yellow Star of David badge, and various papers and artifacts related to the camp. The latter comprise Dr. Kessler's medical notes and seed collection from Vapniarka, prisoner's gifts to him (small handmade metal objects and "The Little Book," a miniature book with sketches made by several Vapniarka prisoners), and a later sketchbook with drawings of camp life. Also includes articles about Vapniarka, papers related to Vapniarka survivors in Israel, copies of the bulletin, Wapniarka, articles written by Dr. Arthur Kessler on lathyrism and other illnesses a typescript of his memoir Ein Arzt im Lager (A Camp Physician), and his testimony submitted to Yad Vashem (typescript).

Dr. Arthur Kessler papers

Document

The collection documents the Holocaust experiences of Dr. Arthur Kessler, originally of Czernowitz (Chernivtsi, Ukraine), including his imprisonment in the Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria and his efforts to treat and manage an outbreak of paralysis of fellow prisoners due to consumption of Lathyrus sativus. Included are biographical materials, correspondence, research notes on Lathyrism, written testimony, writings, and a small amount of photographs. Also included is his unpublished memoir Ein Arzt im Lager (A Camp Physician). Biographical materials include birth certificates, a marriage certificate, identification cards, Romanian passports, and papers related to Arthur’s medical career. Also included is a document regarding Arthur’s release from jail in Czernowitz in 1942 and an exemption certificate from deportation from Czernowitz in 1942. Correspondence primarily consists of wartime letters written to his cousin Jacob Granirer in Bucharest, possibly regarding his work with Lathyrism in Vapniarka. There is also a 1946 letter to Arthur from the Bezalel National Museum regarding the exhibition of gifts given to him by fellow prisoners of Vapniarka. Vapniarka related documents include a list of survivors of the camp living in Israel, notebooks and loose notes regarding Arthur’s work with Lathyrism while in Vapniarka, and typed testimony in German about his experiences there that was likely submitted to Yad Vashem. Writings consist of articles written by Arthur regarding Lathyrism as well as his unpublished memoir. The articles include a 1963 article in German and an English translation entitled “Vascular diseases by consumption of Lathyrus Sativa” that was never published. Arthur’s unpublished memoir, Ein Arzt im Lager (A Camp Physician) was likely written in the 1960s. In it, he describes his arrest and deportation to Vapniarka, his involvement and observations about the disease afflicting the prisoners, the experiences of Arthur and other prisoners transferred from Vapniarka to the Olgopol ghetto (Olhopil, Ukraine), his return to Romania, reunification with his family, and flight from Romania. The manuscript is typed in German with some handwritten edits. It is split into three chapters: I. Im Lager, II. Im Ghetto, and III. Der Weg Zurück. Chapter II contains some hand illustrations and there are two hand drawn maps after Chapter III. Photographs consist of pre-war, wartime, and postwar depictions of Arthur and his family. Included is a photograph of Arthur’s parents, Anna and David Kessler; depictions Arthur as a doctor in the Romanian army and in Zwickau, Germany, a 1943 photograph of Arthur in Olgopol with Dr. Moritz, Polia, Dubs, and three other unknown individuals, and an undated photograph with Arthur, Polia Dubs, “Engineer Berkovitz,” Dr. Moritz, and “Engineer Davidovitz.” There are also four post-war photographs of an exhibit on Vapniarka at the Ghetto Fighters’ House in Israel.

Star of David badge

Object

Blank yellow cloth Star of David badge

Miniature book with sketches made by prisoners

Object

Artifact related to Dr. Arthur Kessler, who was interned and worked at Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria: "The Little Book," a miniature book with sketches (ink and watercolor) made by several Vapniarka prisoners.

Metal plaque made by Vapniarka prisoners

Object

Handmade metal plaque with yarn loop for hanging, given as gift to Dr. Arthur Kessler, who was interned and worked at Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria. The plaque was made and given to him by prisoners at Vapniarka.

Bracelet made by Vapniarka prisoners

Object

Metal bracelet given as gift to Dr. Arthur Kessler, who was interned and worked at Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria. The bracelet was made and given to him by prisoners at Vapniarka.

Pin made by Vapniarka prisoners

Object

Pin given as gift to Dr. Arthur Kessler, who was interned and worked at Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria. The pin was made and given to him by prisoners at Vapniarka.

"V" pendant or charm, made by Vapniarka prisoners

Object

Pendant or charm with the letter "V" given as gift to Dr. Arthur Kessler, who was interned and worked at Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria. The pendant was made and given to him by prisoners at Vapniarka.

Chain with pendant or charm, made by Vapniarka prisoners

Object

Chain with pendant or charm given as gift to Dr. Arthur Kessler, who was interned and worked at Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria. The pendant was made and given to him by prisoners at Vapniarka.

Portfolio cover for series of drawings and sketches

Object

Portfolio of drawings by Leibel and Ilie, along with the original sketches by Dr. Arthur Kessler. Dr. Kessler commissioned the drawings based on his sketches.