us-005578-irn42228-irn42638
type: RecordSet
archival history: The pencil was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Elise Kann Jaeger.
biographical history: Elise Kann was born on December 23, 1930, in Dordrecht, Netherlands, to Jacob and Dora Spanjaard Kann. Dora was born on June 8, 1906, in Eindhoven to Isaac and Juliette Spanjaard-Polak. Jacob was born on August 22, 1900, to Jacobus and Anna Daniels Kann, a secular Jewish family in The Hague. Jacobus, born in 1872, was a prominent banker and publisher, an ardent Zionist, and the first Dutch consul in Palestine. Jacob was an electrical engineer for the Philips Company; he had three brothers, Maurits, Eduard, and Johann and a sister Liz in Haifa. Dora and Jacob married in 1928. Elise had three siblings: Otto, born November 26, 1929, Judith, born July 28, 1934, and Jacob, born March 7, 1936. They lived in a large house with servants and a non-Jewish nanny, Nelly Kwikkers-Fortuin. Dora contracted tuberculosis after the birth of her youngest son and was often bedridden. Jacob was active in the Jewish community and the Zionist movement, but they were a secular family and celebrated Christian holidays with their non-Jewish neighbors. On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Elise woke up to the sound of airplanes. Life for Elise remained normal. They vacationed that summer in Borne at her maternal grandparents. When they returned that fall, Elise noticed changes: ID cards were issued, food rationed, and radios, bicycles, and valuables were confiscated. The non-Jewish servants left. Elise could not go to the park, movies, or play with non-Jewish friends. Shopping was restricted to certain stores and hours. In summer 1941, Jewish children were no longer allowed to attend public schools; the youngest children attended a Jewish school and Otto went to high school in Rotterdam. On April 29, 1942, Jews were ordered to wear the Star of David badge. Jacob sat at the dining room table, cutting stars out of yellow cloth, and writing Jude on them. He gave one to each family member and explained that they should wear it with pride. The following week, Jews were required to wea…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: a. Cylindrical, wooden, red color pencil with a red painted shaft, shortened by use. One end is cut flat, and the core of red pigment is visible. The tip is white where it has been sharpened. b. Cylindrical hollow wooden pencil holder with 2 keyhole shaped side slots. The pencil inserts into a circular opening at the open end. c. Silver colored, lightly corroded metal band with an indented ridge at 1 end. The band slides over the holder to secure the pencil.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1942-1944
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn42638
is or was included in: us-005578-irn42228
record resource extent: a: Height: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Width: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm) b: Height: 3.625 inches (9.208 cm) | Width: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) c: Diameter: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Red pencil and holder used by Gerry van Heel to forge documents for the Dutch resistance and for Jewish people living in hiding in Eindhoven, Holland. On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. By summer 1942, the Germans were deporting Jews to concentration camps. Gerry and his wife Molly aided resistance efforts by hiding wounded English pilots, Dutch Army officers, and Jews. In the fall of 1942, Molly urged her friend, Dora Kann, to go into hiding. Molly and Gerald hid Dora's young daughters, 12 year old Elise and 8 year old Judith; their brothers, 14 year old Otto and 5 year old Jacob, were hidden in different homes. Gerry stole legal identification cards and official administrative stamps and used them to forge ID cards. He replaced the photos and personal information and made his own ink and paper. On September 18, 1944, Eindhoven was liberated by the US 101st Airborne Division. Elise and Dora's mother had died of tuberculosis and their father, Jacob, was killed in Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the war ended in May 1945, Molly sent Elise and Judith to live with their maternal grandmother, Juliette Spanjaard-Polak, where they were reunited with their brothers.
title: Pencil holder and red pencil used by a Dutch resistance member to forge identity cards