us-005578-irn36907-irn43122
type: RecordSet
archival history: The ammunition box was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Father Patrick Desbois on behalf of Yahad-in Unum.
biographical 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…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Rectangular wooden box with 3 metal bands across the front, center, and back. On the front is a canvas handle and a leather strap with a metal buckle; on the back are 2 leather hinges. On the top right front is the number 88 in black; on the lower center is a paper label with text and numbers with text stamped diagonally across the label in red ink. On the front right side is a paper label with illegible text; on the rear right is the number 10. On the front left side is illegible black text. Attached to the lid interior are 2 paper labels. exterior, front, lower center, on label, stamped diagonally : IN LADESTRELF exterior, front, lower center, on label : 1500 / BATRONEN S.M.E / 1943 AK[?] / GEF[?] / NZ GEW. BL.P (2.2.0,45)[?]2 / illegible exterior, front, lower center, across label above, stamped diagonally : IN LADESTRELF exterior, front right, label : illegible text
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 2005-01-01
has beginning date: 1943-01-01
has end date: 2005-12-31
has end date: 1943-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn43122
is or was included in: us-005578-irn36907
record resource extent: overall: Height: 6.625 inches (16.828 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Depth: 15.250 inches (38.735 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Wooden ammunition box acquired ca. 2005 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. In September 1939, following Germany's invasion of Poland, areas of eastern Poland, now in Ukraine, were occupied by the Soviet Union pursuant to 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 the 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: Wooden ammunition box with German paper labels recovered in the Ukraine