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Blue-gray striped uniform square with a red triangle and yellow Star of David badge

Object | Accession Number: 1988.68.1.4

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    Blue-gray striped uniform square with a red triangle and yellow Star of David badge
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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Badge removed from a concentration camp uniform.
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Beno Helmer
    Markings
    on triangle, black dye : T / 64641
    on star, black dye : Jude [Jew]
    Contributor
    Subject: Beno Helmer
    Biography
    Beno Helmer was born in 1923 in Teplice-Sanov, Czechoslovakia, to Isaak and Dora Helmer. As a young man, Beno used his foreign language skills to land small movie roles. He and his family attempted to settle in Hungary. In 1939, because they did not have legal immigration papers, they were deported to Łódź, Poland. In February 1940, the German authorities set up a ghetto where Beno and his family and all Jewish residents were forced to move. In 1942, Beno had to perform forced labor outside the ghetto. Through an underground contact, he got a job under a false identity, posing as a non-Jewish German. He assisted the resistance by collecting information. He also helped commit acts of sabotage, and became an expert at derailing trains. Beno returned to the ghetto when his father became sick. He remained with his family until they were deported. In spring 1944, the Łódź ghetto was liquidated and the family was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Beno was separated from his family. He was sent to a series of German concentration camps, including a subcamp of Gross-Rosen associated with the metalworks factory, Krupp Bertha-Werk, at Laskowitz-Meleschwitz, then to Buchenwald, and to Ludwigslust, a subcamp of Neuengamme. He was liberated by American soldiers while in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp. In an attempt to get back to Poland, he joined a Polish forced labor group that was later drafted into the Soviet Army. The war ended in early May 1945 when Germany surrendered. All of Beno's family was killed, except one sister, who he found after the war. He spent time hunting for Nazi war criminals. Beno remained in Europe for several years, but eventually immigrated to the United States

    Physical Details

    Language
    German
    Classification
    Identifying Artifacts
    Category
    Badges
    Physical Description
    Blue-gray striped cloth square with a red triangle sewn onto the center; printed inside the triangle is the letter T and a prisoner number 64641. Sewn to the cloth beneath the triangle is a yellow cloth badge in the shape of a 6 pointed Star of David. The star outline is formed from 2 overlapping, dyed triangles and has German text in the center.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 8.750 inches (22.225 cm) | Width: 6.875 inches (17.463 cm) | Depth: 1.775 inches (4.509 cm)
    Materials
    overall : cloth, paper, dye, ink, adhesive

    Rights & Restrictions

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

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The Star of David badge was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by Beno Helmer.
    Record last modified:
    2024-11-07 14:21:56
    This page:
    http:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn782

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