us-005578-irn34862
type: RecordSet
archival history: The wedding dress was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2008 by Raya Feig.
biographical history: Raya Kirschner (later Feig) was born on May 21, 1929, in Bialystok, Poland, to Rabbi Meir Leib and Shaindel (Sonia) Denenberg Kirschner. She had an older brother Ben-Zion (Beno), born in 1925 in Papile, Lithuania. The family lived in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania. Her father was born in 1895 in Papile to Ben Zion and Rasha Rutenberg Kirshner. Rabbi Kirschner was the director of the Hebrew Gymnasium in Nejsztat Tawrik. He also served as rabbi in Memel, Kelm, and Slobodka, across the river from Kovno. Her mother Shaindel was born on November 8, 1903, in Bialystok, Russia (later Poland) to Oszer, who died in 1922, and Rachel, who died in 1920. Shaindel managed Bet Yetomi Jewish orphanage and the family lived next door. Raya attended the Orthodox Yavneh School where she was taught in Hebrew. In 1939, Raya’s father accepted a rabbinical position in England. His family was to join him there, but Raya became seriously ill and Rabbi Kirschner returned. In June 1940, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Lithuania. Jewish and other religious organizations were closed and property was appropriated by the state. Raya’s school had to quit teaching Hebrew, but began teaching Yiddish. In June 1941, Germany launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union. The invasion of Lithuania was accompanied by pogroms carried out by the local population, often assisting German mobile killing squads, in which thousands of Jews were murdered. In August, Raya and her family were forced to move to a ghetto in Slobodka, a suburb of Kovno. The Kirschner’s lived in the Small Ghetto. The children from the Jewish orphanage remained with them as Shaindel intended to reestablish the orphanage. On October 4, the Germans ordered all the residents of the Small Ghetto to assemble. About 2000 Jews were taken away and murdered. Raya, her family, and one of the older girls, Nehama Smilg, who said she was a family member, were not selected. After the selection, they were ordered to move to the Large Ghetto. Shainde…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Offwhite crepe cloth gown with a short sleeved, draped blouse, fitted waist, and a flowing, pleated floor-length skirt. It has a pointed collar and no front fasteners. There is a curved slash pocket on each side and two thread loops at the waist for a now missing sash. A floral and scrollwork, green, thread design, with clear and silver-colored glass bead accents, is hand sewn along both sides, curving outward from the shoulder and then inward near the hips to trim the pocket edges. There is a white zipper on the right side, from underarm to hip. Seams and hems are machine sewn.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
date: 1948 May 27
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had subject: 857
has or had subject: 177
has or had subject: 944
has or had subject: 788
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn34862
record resource extent: overall: Height: 53.250 inches (135.255 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Wedding dress with green, thread embroidery worn by Raya Kirschner (later Feig), 19, for her May 27, 1948, wedding to Micky Feig, 22, in Barletta displaced persons camp in Italy. In August 1941, after Germany invaded Lithuania, Raya was interned with her father Meyer, a rabbi, her mother, who ran an orphanage, and her brother Beno in the Kovno ghetto. In October 1942, her father was selected for deportation to Riga, Latvia,and Raya's mother insisted the family go also. They were placed in Spilve camp and Raya, Meyer, and Beno were assigned to hard physical labor. In 1943, Beno was caught smuggling and sent to Kaiserwald; the family never saw him again. In July 1944, Raya and her parents were sent to Stutthof. A month later, her father was sent to Dachau where he perished. Raya and Sonia were sent to Elbing, and then were liberated on a death march in January 1945. After the war ended in May 1945, they went to Bad Gastein displaced persons camp camp in Germany where Raya met Miklos (Micky). He had been interned in Auschwitz and Dachau-Allach concentration camps, and was the only surviving member of his family. All three left for America in September 1949.
title: Wedding gown with green embroidery worn by Raya Kirschner Feig in Barletta DP camp