us-005578-irn36426-irn37632
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Long, thin, rectangular, offwhite cloth that is widest at the ends and tapers toward the center seam. A lace applique is machine stitched onto the hem.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1939 October
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
history: The kittel belt was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009 by Margit Meissner, the widow of Frank Meissner.
history: Franz (Frank) Meissner was born on September 18, 1923, in Trest, Czechoslovakia to Norbert and Lotte. He had an older brother, Leo, and his paternal grandfather also lived with them. His father had owned a wooden shoe factory, but it closed during the economic crisis of 1929. His mother worked as a secretary at her brother’s machine factory to support the family. His father was the president of their synagogue and they went to synagogue every morning. The Jewish community in Trest was small, with only 64 members in 1930. There was no secondary school in Trest, so when Frank was 11 years old he attended school in a neighboring town. In 1937, he left school to apprentice at his uncle’s machine factory. That year he also joined Youth Aliyah, a Zionist youth group, and traveled to Prague to learn Hebrew and to develop a farm proposal for emigration to Palestine. Both brothers wished to emigrate from Czechoslovakia, with the entire family joining them later. In October 1939, because of increasing persecution by the Germans, Youth Aliyah arranged the emigration from Czechoslovakia to Denmark of many members, including 16 year old Frank. Leo, still waiting to go to Palestine, chose to remain with their parents. Frank was strip searched at the border wehn he eft October 24. He and the other boys were sent to live and work on farms in Denmark. After an initial unpleasant placement, Frank stayed with the Nielsen family, where he was made to feel like part of the family and became involved with the Nielsen’s church. In 1941, he earned a scholarship to attend an agricultural high school in Denmark. Through these early years of the war, Frank received weekly letters from his family. In May of 1942, his family wrote that they were getting ready for their departure, although they do not know where they are going. They tell Frank that they are proud of him and that he should not worry about the family. After graduating high school, Frank enrolled in the Agricultural College of the …
identifier: irn37632
is or was included in: us-005578-irn36426
record resource extent: overall: Height: 69.250 inches (175.895 cm) | Width: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Long, narrow belt for a kittel, a ceremonial robe worn by a Jewish male, used by Norbert Meissner, who was president of the synagogue in Trest, Czechoslovakia, before and during the Holocaust. He and his wife, Lotte, and son, Leo, were deported to Theresienstadt in 1943. A year later, they were sent to Auschwitz death camp where they perished. The belt was preserved by his son, Frank. Frank, age 16, left Czechoslovakia in October 1939 because of the increasing Nazi persecution of Jews as Czechoslovakia was dismembered by Nazi Germany and its allies. With the encouragement of his family, he left for Denmark with members of Youth Aliyah, a organization that helped people to emigrate to Palestine. In 1943, the Germans began to deport all Jews from Denmark. Frank was warned that the Gestapo was looking for him and he was smuggled on a fishing boat to Sweden. He had been receiving weekly letters from his family, even after their deportation to the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1942; the letters stopped in 1943. After completing his education, Franz left for Great Britain where he joined the Czech army in exile. In the fall of 1944, Franz learned that his family had been sent to Auschwitz death camp. After the war, he returned to Czechoslovakia, searching for his family, but he found no survivors.
title: Belt for a kittel [ceremonial robe] saved by a Czech Jewish refugee