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Blue felt belt with appliqued flowers found by a German Jewish teenage inmate at Auschwitz

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Floral appliqué belt issued or found by 14 year old Ruth Krautwirth upon her April 1943 arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, when her clothes were taken and she was given filthy, ill-fitting civilian clothing to wear. As Ruth recalled: "We endured at the edge of the crematoria. One day, very early on, I found a felt belt. A happy row of flowers on a blue field. Obviously the cheerful work of a child. ...I used the belt to cinch the waistline of my striped prison uniform. I bloused the top to hide the belt or I would have risked a beating. The button closing is long gone. Somewhere I found a rusty safety pin. It has remained there ever since. ...As starvation progressed, my clothes became looser with every day. To assuage my mother, I explained - not very convincingly - that instead of getting thinner, the belt actually stretched. Wearing this forbidden piece of finery was my pathetic act of defiance. I am still proud of it." Ruth, her parents Hanna and Isak, and brother Zev, 10, were deported from Frankfurt, Germany, to Birkenau in April 1943. Ruth and Hanna, separated from Isak and Zev, were together through Birkenau, Ravensbrück, and Malchow, and were liberated on a death march by US troops in May 1945. Zev survived Birkenau, Sachsenhausen, Gunskirchen, and Mauthausen and then went to Palestine. Several of Ruth’s relatives were killed in the Holocaust. Her father Isak, age 46, was killed in Auschwitz on November 19, 1943. Her maternal grandfather and cousins also were killed. Ruth and Hannah left for America in 1947.

Brown and yellow striped silk handkerchief found by a German Jewish teenage inmate at Birkenau

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Brown silk handkerchief with yellow lines found by 14 year old Ruth Krautwirth in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where she was held from April 1943 to November 1944. Ruth worked in the Kanada unit, sorting the inmates discarded belongings. It is likely that she found the kerchief there. She kept the handkerchief "as a reminder that once there was a world without gassings, without filthy latrines and flea infested straw cots, without electrically charged wire fences." Ruth, her parents Hanna and Isak, and brother Zev were deported from Frankfurt, Germany, to Birkenau in April 1943. Ruth and Hanna, separated from Isak and Zev, were together through Birkenau, Ravensbrück, and Malchow, and were liberated on a death march by US troops in May 1945. Zev survived Birkenau, Sachsenhausen, Gunskirchen, and Mauthausen, and then went to Palestine. Several of Ruth’s relatives were killed in the Holocaust. Her father Isak, age 46, was killed in Auschwitz on November 19, 1943. Her maternal grandfather and cousins also were killed. Ruth and Hannah left for America in 1947.

Colorful plaid handkerchief found by a German Jewish teenage inmate at Birkenau

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Orange, pink, yellow, and green plaid handkerchief found by 14 year old Ruth Krautwirth in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where she was held from April 1943 to November 1944. Ruth worked in the Kanada unit, sorting the inmates discarded belongings. It is likely that she found the kerchief there. She kept the handkerchief as a reminder "that once there was a world without gassings, without filthy latrines and flea infested straw cots, without electrically charged wire fences." Ruth, her parents Hanna and Isak, and brother Zev were deported from Frankfurt, Germany, to Birkenau in April 1943. Ruth and Hanna, separated from Isak and Zev, were together through Birkenau, Ravensbrück, and Malchow, and were liberated on a death march by US troops in May 1945. Zev survived Birkenau, Sachsenhausen, Gunskirchen, and Mauthausen, and then went to Palestine. Several of Ruth’s relatives were killed in the Holocaust. Her father Isak, 46, was killed in Auschwitz on November 19, 1943. Her maternal grandfather and cousins also were killed. Ruth and Hannah left for America in 1947.

Hitler Youth armband with a swastika acquired by a US soldier

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Hitler Youth armband acquired by Harry Meyerowitz, a soldier in the US Army in Europe from 1944-45. The Hitler Youth was founded by the Nazi Party to shape the beliefs and actions of German youth to conform to national socialist ideology. It was a pathway for service in the armed forces or, later, in the SS. In 1936, membership in Nazi youth groups became mandatory for those age ten to seventeen. Harry deployed to Europe in 1944. His unit entered Ohrdruf concentration camp on April 6, 1945, two days after its liberation by US troops. This was the first camp liberated by American forces. Ruth Krautwirth, her parents Hanna and Isak, and brother Zev were deported from Frankfurt, Germany, to Auschwitz-Birkenau in April 1943. Ruth and Hanne, separated from Isak and Zev, were together through Birkenau, Ravensbrück, and Malchow, and were liberated on a death march by US troops in May 1945. Zev survived Birkenau, Sachsenhausen, Gunskirchen, and Mauthausen, and then went to Palestine. Several of Ruth’s relatives were killed in the Holocaust. Her father Isak, 46, was killed in Auschwitz on November 19, 1943. Her maternal grandfather and cousins also were killed. Ruth and Hannah left for America in 1947, where Ruth and Harry met, and then married in 1948.

SA brown uniform shirt with Rottenfuhrer insignia acquired by a US soldier

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SA [Sturmabteilung] brown uniform shirt with swastika armband brought back from the war by Harry Meyerowitz, a soldier in the US Army in Europe from 1944-1945. It has the official tag of the RZM, the National Equipment Quartermaster. The collar insignia indicates a rank of SA - Rottenfuhrer, a Troop leader for a paramilitary squad of 5-7 men. The green collar tab number 133, was for Gruppe Sachsen, which was located in Saxony, Germany, from 1933 until May 1945. The SA was a Nazi paramilitary organization. Known as Brownshirts or Storm Troopers, the SA protected Nazi leaders, marched in Nazi rallies, and terrorized political opponents during Hitler’s rise to power. By 1933, SA membership had expanded to nearly three million men. It lost most of its political power to the SS after a 1934 purge. Harry deployed to Europe in 1944. His unit entered Ohrdruf concentration camp on April 6, 1945, two days after its liberation by US troops. This was the first camp liberated by American forces. Ruth Krautwirth, her parents Hanna and Isak, and brother Zev were deported from Frankfurt, Germany, to Birkenau in April 1943. Ruth and Hanne, separated from Isak and Zev, were together through Birkenau, Ravensbrück, and Malchow, and were liberated on a death march by US troops in May 1945. Zev survived Birkenau, Sachsenhausen, Gunskirchen, and Mauthausen, and then went to Palestine. Several of Ruth’s relatives were killed in the Holocaust. Her father Isak, 46, was killed in Auschwitz on November 19, 1943. Her maternal grandfather and cousins also were killed. Ruth and Hannah left for America in 1947, where Ruth and Harry met, and then married in 1948.

Exhibition catalog

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