us-005578-irn38355-irn40088
type: RecordSet
archival history: The glass slide projector was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009 by Alice Robinson Lev, the daughter of Ephraim and Sarah Robinson.
biographical history: Efraim Majer Rubinzon (later Ephraim Robinson, 1915-1985) was born in Warsaw, Poland, to Chaim (?-1939) and Henna Rubinzon. Chaim and Henna owned a store that sold imported perfumes and cosmetics, and the family lived in a comfortable apartment above it. Efraim had one younger brother, Lolik. In 1934, Efraim pursued his academic studies in France because Jewish university students were welcomed there and not in Poland. He received a Bachelor of Science in agronomy in July 1938, from the University of Nancy. He continued his studies with a year at the Dairy Industry School, and hoped to immigrate to Palestine afterwards. During the summer of 1939, Efraim was working at a dairy in Montauban Tarn-et-Garonne when his aunt wrote to tell him that his father had died unexpectedly. Efraim had maintained his Polish citizenship, and also acquired a French passport in order to work at the dairy, so he was able to quickly return to Warsaw in mid-July. He planned to liquidate the family business and return to France with his mother and brother. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and began bombing Warsaw daily. The family’s apartment and store were destroyed by an incendiary bomb, and they moved in with Efraim’s aunt. The Soviet Union, a German ally, invaded eastern Poland on September 17. Later that fall, German soldiers came looking for Efraim because of his French passport. He was able to grab a rucksack and escaped out the backdoor, but did not have a chance to say goodbye. Efraim fled, first by bicycle and then by foot, to Soviet-controlled territory near Bialystok, Poland. The situation there was slightly better, and Efraim planned to bring his mother and brother to live with him there. It was getting more difficult to cross the border, so Efraim decided that it would be best to have official entry papers for Henna and Lolik. In exchange for their papers, he agreed to work in a coal mine in the Donbas (Dombosk) region (now in Ukraine). The process to acquire the …
physical characteristics and technical requirements: a. Black metal tower projector on a footed, rectangular base. The top is open with a smaller square of 4 vents in the center. A lens is attached to the front; in front of this lens is a longer lens apparatus that moves along 2 metal rods protruding from the tower. The slide tray (b) goes into this apparatus. A bent rod with a knob is attached near the tower under the lenses. The right side of the tower has a small hinged door with Leitz embossed. The back left corner of the base has a red toggle screw; the back right corner has a screw post with a washer. A metal plate with text is riveted to the rear tower base. A black rubber cord with a 2 pronged round plug protrudes from the rear. b. Silver colored metal, rectangular tray with 2 extruding tabs on 1 side. There is a square with rounded corners cut out of the center. A thin metal piece with a square center cut out slides into the tray, with tracks and pressure clips to hold a slide. c. Rectangular wooden case covered with black canvas with 2 silver colored metal hasp locks on the front. There are silver colored metal corner protectors and 3 bottom corners have round metal feet. There are 2 metal hinges on the rear. A black leather handle is attached to 2 metal rings and plates on the top. It has a wooden, gray cloth lined interior. In the left base interior are 2 wooden support blocks; above is a painted canvas pocket. A wooden support block in the bottom right spans from front to back and has a leather strap with a metal snap. d. Piece of flat curved wood with tapered ends. e. Split key ring with silver colored key with rounded, textured bow and metal ring tag with green paper with handwritten text. It is attached to the handle of the case by a ball chain. e. on attached paper tag, handwritten, black ink : German / slide / Projector
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1948 October 21
has beginning date: 1945-01-01
has end date: 1948-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: eng
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn40088
is or was included in: us-005578-irn38355
record resource extent: a: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 13.750 inches (34.925 cm) | Depth: 5.875 inches (14.923 cm) b: Height: 6.625 inches (16.827 cm) | Width: 3.250 inches (8.255 cm) | Depth: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) c: Height: 12.500 inches (31.75 cm) | Width: 16.000 inches (40.64 cm) | Depth: 6.875 inches (17.463 cm) d: Height: 5.375 inches (13.653 cm) | Width: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm) e: Height: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Width: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Leitz projector for glass slides with case, trays, and a key ring used by Ephraim Mayer Robinson to view photographs that he took of activities in Zeilsheim displaced persons camp in Germany from 1945-1948. Soon after Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Ephraim and his wife, Sarah, fled east to Soviet territory. They relocated often as the Soviet Union demanded that Jewish refugees keep moving further east. They had a daughter, Fay, in 1941, in Odessa, and Alice was born in 1944 in Romanovka, Bessarabia. When the war ended in May 1945, they returned from Uzbekistan to Bessarabia, where they crossed the border to Poland. In October 1945, they were relocated to Zeilsheim, with the assistance of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Ephraim, Sarah, and their 3 children, Fay, Alice, and Joseph, born in the camp in 1946, got passage on the first immigrant transport to depart under the Displaced Persons Act, the SS General Black, which arrived in the United States on October 30, 1948.
title: Leitz glass slide projector with case, trays, and key ring used in a displaced persons camp