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Text only sign found at Ebensee concentration camp crematorium by an American soldier

Object | Accession Number: 1993.24.1

Sign found by Sidney Bruskin, an American soldier, at the liberation at Ebensee concentration camp. The sign was removed from above an oven door inside the crematorium. The text is an epitaph expressing a wish for cremation. Bruskin served with the 80th Infantry Division Counter Intelligence Corps.

Date
found:  1945 May 06
Geography
found: Ebensee (Concentration camp); Nordhausen (Thuringia, Germany)
Language
German
Classification
Posters
Category
War propaganda
Object Type
Posters, German (lcsh)
Credit Line
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Sydney Bruskin

About This Object

Physical Description
Rectangular sign made from a double layered primary support of 2 offwhite pieces of paper adhered, one on top of the other, and then adhered to a larger piece of dark brown pressed fiberboard. On the front is a pencilled drawing of candles and a flame and handwritten, calligraphic German in black writing ink on a light brown background. The image is drawn on top of the text. There is an address label on the reverse.
Dimensions
overall: Height: 9.500 inches (24.13 cm) | Width: 13.125 inches (33.338 cm)
Materials
overall : paper, fiberboard, ink, graphite, adhesive
Markings
front, black ink : Nicht Efle Wurmer Soll'n Einft von meinem Leichnam hajr'n! Die reine flamme soll mich einft verzehr'n. Ich liebte stets die Warme und dos Licht Drum verbrennt mich und begrabt mich nicht. [No loathesome worms should feast on my body. [Instead] the pure flames should consume it. I always loved the warmth and light, and for that reason you should not bury but cremate me.]
Inscription
reverse, label : Sydney Bruskin

Keywords and Subjects

Administrative History

Legal Status
Permanent Collection
Provenance
The sign was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by Sydney Bruskin.
Funding Note
The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Rights and Restrictions

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

 
Record last modified: 2022-07-28 18:22:17
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn8121

Also in Sidney Bruskin collection

The collection consists of a sign relating to the experiences of Sidney Bruskin as a soldier in the United States Army in Germany during World War II. Also includes a photograph and document. Some of these materials may be combined into a single collection in the future.

Date: 1945 May

Ebensee liberation photograph

Document

Contains a picture taken by Sydney Bruskin, an American soldier with the 80th Infantry Division Counter Intelligence Corps, at the liberation of the Ebensee Concentration Camp. The person in the background of the image is a liberator.

Memorandum

Document

The memorandum is marked "Secret" and was issued by the Counter Intelligence Corps of the United States Army. It lists regulations of a mission in Altaussee, Austria, to protect art treasures, continue steps to administer area and arrest those who come within scope of CIC, and recover property.

View All 3 Items in the Collection