us-005578-irn47278-irn61171
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Discolored blue and black striped ribbon bar with horizontal stripes with discoloration: narrow blue, black, blue, black, narrow blue. It is wrapped around a gray cardboard rectangle with a small, ridged, 5 point tarnished silver star with dotted arms attached to the center.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1944-1945
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
history: Edward Henryk Herzbaum (later Hartry) was born on October 6, 1920, in Vienna, Austria. He was the only son of a Jewish couple, Dr. Alexander and Fanny Hermelin Herzbaum. Alexander was a chemical engineer, born in Tarnow, Poland, in February 1886 to Mendel (1855-1930) and Chana Ettinger Herzbaum, who married in 1882. They also had a daughter Gisela (1884-1912.) Chana died in 1886. In 1888, Mendel married Beila Lea Ettinger (b. August 22, 1864). Mendel and Beila had two children: Jakob (1888-1966) and Herman. Edward's mother Fanny was born in Boryslaw, Poland, near Lvov on May 30, 1890, to Samuel (d. 1922) and Chaje Sara Backenroth Hermelin. Fanny had four siblings, Rifke (b. 1883), Cirl (b. 1888), Zacharje (1884-1925), and Abraham (1885-1886.) In 1928, Edward's family moved to Poland and settled in Zawiercie. Edward had asthma and wore glasses, as he was very shortsighted. In 1934, they moved to Łódź. Alexander, 51, died in July 1937 of cancer. Edward graduated from high school in May 1938, and deferred his military service to enroll at the Warsaw Polytechnic, Faculty of Architecture. He had completed two semesters when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Edward joined the Polish Auxiliary Forces as a volunteer and was arrested by the Germans with other paramilitary youth a few days later. Edward escaped and returned to Łódź. The Soviet Union invaded and occupied eastern Poland. German occupying authorities in Łódź enacted oppressive anti-Jewish measures. At the urging of his mother, Edward, then 19, left Łódź on December 6, 1939, and went east to Lvov, which was under Soviet control. In Lvov, Edward lived with his maternal aunt and had an assortment of jobs, including office worker at a construction site, skiing instructor, and lifeguard at a swimming pool in a Soviet sports center. In June 1940, Edward was arrested by the NKVD (Soviet Security Police), tortured, and exiled to a gulag near Rybinsk on the Volga River. The prisoners logged and hauled trees in…
history: The ribbon and pin were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Krystyna Mew, the daughter of Edward (Herzbaum) Hartry.
identifier: irn61171
is or was included in: us-005578-irn47278
record resource extent: overall: Height: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) | Width: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Virtuti Militari black and blue ribbon bar, or undress ribbon, with one star awarded to Edward Herzbaum, a soldier in the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division, 2nd Polish Corps, British Army, from 1942-1945. The single star recognizes that the awardee was wounded once in combat. When Edward was 19, he left Łódź, Poland, shortly after Nazi Germany occupied the country in September 1939 for Soviet controlled Lvov. In June 1940, Edward was exiled to a gulag by Soviet security police. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Edward was released in an amnesty of Polish prisoners to fight the Germans. He joined the Polish Army of the East, known as Anders Army. In August 1942, the unit left Soviet territory and became the 2nd Polish Corps. In February 1944, they joined the British 8th Army in Italy. The Corps fought its way north and was honored for heroism in the Battle of Monte Cassino. They celebrated VE Day, May 8, 1945, in Italy. Edward learned that his mother died in Łódź Ghetto in 1943. He studied architecture in Rome until the British decided to allow Polish Corps veterans to immigrate to England in October 1946. He then served in the Polish Resettlement Corps for two years, completed his degree, and set up his own architecture firm.
title: Virtuti Militari - Wound Badge ribbon with star awarded to a Jewish soldier, 2nd Polish Corps