Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Nazi swastika armband acquired by Mordecai E. Schwart. Schwartz, a soldier in the United States Army. After the war ended in May 1945, Schwartz was recruited to serve as Area Director for UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). He worked for UNRRA until 1948, when the organization was deactivated. He then became Area Director for the International Refugee Organization (IRO), supervising twenty-eight displaced persons camps in Germany. The DP camps were set up to house and feed, and to provide medical service and legal protection for survivors of the concentration and slave labor camps, and to offer them the chance to reestablish their lives postwar. When IRO was deactivated in 1951, Mordecai was recruited by US Air Force Intelligence.
- Date
-
received:
1945
- Geography
-
received:
Germany
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mordecai E. Schwartz
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Mordecai E. Schwartz
- Biography
-
Mordecai E. Schwartz had a college degree in business adminstration and was fluent in six languages when he enlisted in the United States Army in 1942. After the war ended in May 1945, he was stationed in Munich, Germany, and was recruited by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). He requested and was granted a European discharge from the US Army and became the Area Director for UNRRA in the US Zone in Germany from 1945 to 1948. Upon the deactivation of UNRRA in 1948, he was transferred and made Area Director for the International Refugee Organization (IRO), supervising twenty-eight displaced persons camps in Germany. The displaced persons camps were set up to house and feed, and to provide medical service, and legal protection for survivors of the concentration and slave labor camps, and to offer them the chance to reestablish their lives postwar. When IRO was deactivated in 1951, Mordecai was recruited by US Air Force Intelligence in Munich and served in their worldwide operations until his retirement with highest honors.
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Identifying Artifacts
- Category
-
Armbands
- Object Type
-
Armbands (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Red cloth armband with a black swastika on a white circle sewn to the front.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) | Width: 8.000 inches (20.32 cm)
- Materials
- overall : cotton
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jewish refugees--Germany--Biography. Jewish soldiers--United States--Biography. Soldiers--United States--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Civilian relief--Personal narratives, American. World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Germany--Personal narratives, American.
- Corporate Name
- United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The armband was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by Mordecai Schwartz.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-30 16:32:19
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn8296
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Also in Mordecai E. Schwartz collection
The collection consists of armbands, a card, and drawings by Alfred Glück relating to the experiences of Mordecai E. Schwartz during his wartime service in the United States Army and after the war when he served as Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945 to 1948 and then as Area Director for the International Refugee Organization in Germany.
Date: 1945-1951
Autobiographical drawing of bombed villages created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting scenes he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Autobiographical drawing of people celebrating liberation created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Autobiographical drawing of an allied soldier and a concentration camp inmate created byAlfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Autobiographical drawing of a burning synagogue created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Autobiographical drawing of a hanged Nazi soldier created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Allegorical, autobiographical drawing of a train transport to Auschwitz created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Autobiographical drawing of concentration camp inmates in a barracks created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Autobiographical drawing of inmates on a death march created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Autobiographical drawing of concentration camp inmates being punished by a guard created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP persons camp
Object
Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Autobiographical watercolor of a death march survivor with bleeding feet created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Watercolor drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Watercolor portrait of a concentration camp survivor created by fellow inmate Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp
Object
Watercolor portrait created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting the things he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
Handwritten thank you note received by an administrator of a displaced persons camp
Object
Handwritten letter received by Mordecai Schwartz on February 9, 1947, from a resident in Hasenhecke displaced persons camp, expressing appreciation for Schwartz's work. Schwartz, a soldier in the United States Army, was who was recruited after the war ended in May 1945 to serve as Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). He worked for UNRRA until 1948, when UNRRA was deactivated. He then became Area Director for the International Refugee Organization (IRO), supervising twenty-eight displaced persons camps in Germany. The DP camps were set up to house and feed, and to provide medical service and legal protection for survivors of the concentration and slave labor camps, and to offer them the chance to reestablish their lives postwar. When IRO was deactivated in 1951, Mordecai was recruited by US Air Force Intelligence.
Circular red cloth UNRRA badge worn by a former US soldier as Area Administrator for Germany
Object
UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) red circle patch worn by Mordecai E. Schwart. Schwartz, a soldier in the United States Army, was recruited after the war ended in May 1945 to serve as Area Director for UNRRA. He worked for UNRRA until 1948, when the organization was deactivated. He then became Area Director for the International Refugee Organization (IRO), supervising twenty-eight displaced persons camps in Germany. The DP camps were set up to house and feed, and to provide medical service and legal protection for survivors of the concentration and slave labor camps, and to offer them the chance to reestablish their lives postwar. When IRO was deactivated in 1951, Mordecai was recruited by US Air Force Intelligence.
