us-005578-irn45191-irn167859
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Silver tablespoon with a flat, oval handle with a rounded end point and a bead and oak leaf patterned border. The handle narrows at the stem, arches up slightly and then down into a shallow, elongated oval bowl with a rounded end point. The back is smooth with a stamped hallmark.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1939-01-01
has end date: 1939-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
history: The tablespoon was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2014 by Peter Silversmith.
history: Fritz Silberschmidt was born on October 4, 1908, in Bocholt, Germany, to a Jewish couple, Jacob and Selma Berg Silberschmidt. Jacob was a veteran of World War I (1914-1918). Selma was born on November 17, 1884, in Essen. Fritz had a brother, Rudolph, who was born on May 23, 1912. Fritz’s father Jacob died in 1927. In January 1933, Hitler came to power and soon established a Nazi dictatorship that was hostile to Jews. On November 8, Fritz moved to Cologne. Later that year, he married Juliane Else Simon. Juliane was born on September 5, 1909, in Cologne, to Eduard and Dorothea Altman Simon. Eduard was born in Thalfang on January 27, 1873. Dorothea was born in Schrimm (Srem, Poland) on August 31, 1877. In June 1936, Fritz’s mother and brother also moved to Cologne. In 1939, Fritz, Juliane, Rudolph, and Selma decided to depart for the Netherlands, leaving behind their extended families. Nazi officials confiscated their personal and household belongings, except for three silver spoons which they were given permission to take with them. In Holland, Fritz was detained in Zeeburgerdijk quarantine center in Amsterdam. This was one of several internment camps for legal refugees that the Dutch established to handle the large influx of people fleeing Nazi rule. Fritz was assigned to make shoes in the camp. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and even legal refugees were subject to internment as enemy aliens. On a visit to the camp, Rudolph told Fritz that he was going to volunteer for a factory job, hoping to protect their mother in case Germany invaded Netherlands. Fritz was eventually released from the internment center. On January 24, 1940, he and Juliane sailed from Rotterdam on the SS Veendam, arriving in New York on February 5. They settled in Boston and Americanized their names to Fred and Juliana Elsa Silversmith. They had a son in 1945. Germany occupied Netherlands in May 1940. In 1942, Juliana received a letter from the Red Cross that said her parents had been …
identifier: irn167859
is or was included in: us-005578-irn45191
record resource extent: overall: Height: 8.250 inches (20.955 cm) | Width: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) | Depth: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Silver oak leaf patterned spoon, one of three spoons brought with Fritz and Juliane Else Silberschmidt when they escaped Nazi Germany for the Netherlands in 1939. These spoons were among the very few items that they were permitted to take with them when they left Cologne. The rest of the family's personal and household belongings were confiscated by German authorities. Fritz and Juliane, and Fritz's mother Selma and brother Rudolph fled to Amsterdam in 1939. After Germany invaded Poland that September, even legal emigrants were detained as enemy aliens. Fritz was interned at Zeeburgerdijk quarantine center in Amsterdam. After his release, he and Juliane left for America in January 1940. Fritz's brother Rudolph was murdered in Auschwitz in September 1942. His mother survived in hiding and joined them in the US after the war in 1946.
title: Silver oak patterned tablespoon saved by German Jewish refugees