us-005578-irn36907-irn43046
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Cylindrical steel gun barrel carrier with flat sides and a full length hinge. The 2 curved sides have scalloped extensions that interlock at the top. On the front center base is a swivel, hinged locking clip that attaches to an extruding rectangular tab on the lid. The lid and base have a vertical indent on the center and a raised rectangular section at each end. There is a rectangular bar handle rusted to each side of the lid. The interior lid and base have metal inserts at one end to secure the barrel; on the other end of the lid is an extruding L-shaped tab. It has several holes, is flaking and coated with orange rust, and does not close completely.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1941-01-01
has beginning date: 2005-01-01
has end date: 1942-12-31
has end date: 2005-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
history: Father Patrick Desbois is the president of Yahad- In Unum (Together as One), an organization he co-founded in 2004 to develop and promote Christian-Jewish understanding. He is also a Roman Catholic priest and director of the Episcopal Committee for Relations with Judaism, which is connected with the French Conference of Bishops. Father Desbois was born in Chalon-sur-Saone, France, in 1955 and grew up on a farm in the Bresse region of eastern France. As a young man, he joined the French civil service and taught mathematics in West Africa. He went to Calcutta to work with Mother Teresa for three months. After this, he decided to join the priesthood, a decision that shocked his secular family. He became a parish priest and studied Judaism and learned Hebrew. He asked to do outreach work with groups such as Roma, ex-prisoners, and Jews, and was appointed a liaison with the Jewish community in France. His family had lived on the farm throughout the German occupation of France during World War II, 6/25/1940-8/25/1944. His paternal grandfather, as a soldier in the French Army, had been deported by the Germans following the occupation. He was sent to Rava-Ruska prison camp, then on the Ukrainian side of the Polish border, now in Ukraine. His grandfather never talked about his experiences, but he did once comment to his grandson that, as bad as it was for French prisoners-of-war, it was much worse for other types of inmates. A maternal cousin who had been a member of the resistance was deported and killed in a German concentration camp. As an adult, he learned from his mother that the family had often hidden members of the French Resistance on the farm. Desbois was haunted by his grandfather's silence. He made repeated trips to Rava-Ruska where his grandfather had been imprisoned. On one visit, the mayor took him to the edge of the forest where a group of elderly villagers were gathered to tell him what they had witnessed. Desbois finally learned what his grandfather would n…
history: The machine gun was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Father Patrick Desbois on behalf of Yahad-in Unum.
identifier: irn43046
is or was included in: us-005578-irn36907
record resource extent: overall: Height: 22.500 inches (57.15 cm) | Width: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) | Depth: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Spare barrel carrier for the MG 34 (Maschinengewehr 34) and the MG 42 excavated by Yahad-In Unum from a mass execution and grave site in Ukraine uncovered by their research into atrocities committed by Nazi Germany against the Jewish population during WWII. It held and protected barrels that were replaced often to avoid overheating. The German Army issued the MG 34 in 1934. It was the primary infantry machine gun used in the war until it was replaced by the MG 42, which had similar features, but a higher rate of fire. In early September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and a few weeks later, the Soviet Union occupied eastern Poland, now Ukraine, under the terms of the German-Soviet Pact. In late June 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, a surprise attack on Russia. The military assault was coordinated with killing squads whose goal was the Final Solution, the elimination of all Jews from the conquered territories. With the assistance of trained collaborators and local populace, the goal was achieved through deportations to killing centers and mass executions throughout the region. The lack of adequate rail transport meant that many villages had killing fields where the Jews were shot and buried in huge ditches, along with the bullets and other evidence. Through interviews with the remaining eyewitnesses, Yahad-In Unum locates and documents these remains of a Holocaust by bullets and offers respectful remembrance for the fallen.
title: Spare machine gun barrel case recovered postwar at a mass execution site