us-005578-irn47375-irn96222
type: RecordSet
archival history: The handpainted challah cover was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Leopold Schein.
biographical history: Poldek (Leopold) Schein was born on January 9, 1920, to Abraham and Mania (Maria) Gruenberg Schein in Facimiech, Poland, a small village near Krakow. Abraham was born in 1882. Maria was born in October 1887. Abraham owned a general store and sold tobacco and alcohol. Leopold had five siblings: Herman, born March 30, 1911; Jozek (Joseph), born May 21, 1913; Hela (Helena), born April 1918; Kubus (Jakob), born 1925; and Escia (Esther), born 1930. Abraham hired a yeshiva student to teach the children to read and write in Polish and Hebrew. Leopold learned to read and write very quickly, so when he was six years old, he was sent to live with an aunt in Krakow to attend a good school. He returned home after two years and attended school in the nearby town of Skawina for four years, living with his maternal uncle Leon Gruenberg during the school week and his parents during the weekend. Herman worked as a tailor and Joseph as a typesetter. In 1933, Leopold apprenticed to a barber. He wanted to be an artist and had an opportunity to apprentice to an advertising company but could not afford to pay the bond. In 1935, the family moved to Krakow because of growing anti-Semitism. In 1936, Leopold got a job working for a graphic artist. He also did freelance work making advertising labels for stores. In 1939, Leopold won a scholarship for art school. He was to begin on September 10, but on September 1, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany. When the war began, the Polish government called for all able bodied men to report for military service. Leopold, Abraham, Herman, and Joseph left to join the Polish army. Joseph traveled separately. They were on a train near the Bug River when it was hit by bombs. They stayed with a relative in Stanislawow (Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine), hoping to find Joseph. They continued on to Lwow (Lviv, Ukraine), where they were reunited with Joseph. Herman found a job as a tailor and secured an apartment. The Blanka Company for which Leopold had done freelance…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Square challah cover made from white parachute silk with a stiff, 1-inch, light blue painted border. A thin, wavy line of gold paint resembling stitching has been applied along the inner border where the painted band ends. Painted in the center are two golden male lions in profile, standing upright, and holding a golden crown with a Star of David between their front paws. The lion's, tongues extended, look backwards in opposite directions. Below them is a golden scroll with brown accents. There are two slightly arched lines of blue painted Hebrew text: one below the scroll and the other above the lions. In each corner is a triangular arrangement of red flowers, with yellow and pink accents, and green leaves. The text and flowers have raised outlines in iridescent paint. There is some slight staining. front, center, hand painted, gold paint : Hebrew text [Likhvod Shabat Kodesh Shenat Tav Shin Tet (In honor of Holy Shabbat / (The) Year [5]709 (which = 1949]
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
has beginning date: 1948-01-01
has end date: 1948-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: heb
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn96222
is or was included in: us-005578-irn47375
record resource extent: overall: Height: 18.500 inches (46.99 cm) | Width: 18.000 inches (45.72 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Silk hallah cover with a design painted by Poldek (Leopold) Schein in 1948 when he was living in Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp. The cover is made from parachute silk and has an image of two golden lions holding a gold crown topped with a Star of David, with red flower clusters in each corner. The paints were sent to him by his uncle in the United States. Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939. Nineteen year old Poldek lived in Krakow with his parents Abraham and Mania, three brothers, Joseph, Herman, and Jacob, and two sisters Esther and Helena. Leopold, his father and his two older brothers left to enlist in the Polish Army. They traveled to Lwow, but soon after they arrived, the city surrendered to the Soviet Army. In 1940, Polish refugees were told they must become Soviet citizens. The Scheins refused and were sent to Kalchug, a forestry labor camp in Siberia. Abraham became ill and died that summer. In 1941, the three brothers, and other Polish refugees, were released from the camp and permitted to settle elsewhere in the Soviet Union. They went to Uzbekistan where they lived until the end of the war. Germany surrendered in May and that summer they left for Poland. They found almost no family members in Krakow. They decided to leave for Germany, and settled in the DP camp in Bergen-Belsen because they were told that it had a large Jewish community. Poldek worked painting houses, and eventually became head of graphics for the Jewish community. He married Pepi Levi, a survivor from Łódź, in December 1947. Joseph and Herman emigrated to Canada. A paternal uncle, Jacob Schein, in New York helped Poldek and Pepi get US immigration visas and they arrived in 1949. It was presumed that Leopold's mother, sisters, and youngest brother had been deported to Auschwitz and killed. In 1990, Leopold traveled to Poland and discovered that they had been shot by a guard on the train platform while waiting to be deported.
title: Challah cover with a handpainted crest of lions with a crown with a Star of David created by a Jewish Polish refugee in Bergen-Belsen DP camp