us-005578-irn47491-irn76823
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
has or had some members with language: deu
biographical history: Terez Gruenberger was born on June 5, 1921, in Mukacevo, Czechoslovakia (Mukacheve, Ukraine), to Zsigmund and Roszi (Roza) Gruenberger Schonfeld. Roza was born on September 18, 1893, in Brestovo, Czechoslovakia, to Ludvik and Zeni Neiman Gruenberger. She was a shoe designer. Zsigmund was born in 1887 in Kisvarda, Hungary. The couple owned a specialty shop for orthopedic shoes in Budafok, Hungary, and hand made all the shoes. Terez’s sister, Miriam, was born on February 26, 1923. Zsigmund died in 1928 and Terez, her mother, and sister moved back to Mukacevo to live with Terez’s maternal grandparents, Ludvik and Zeni Gruenberger. Roza supported the family by hand making specialty shoes. Terez attended public school, where she learned German. She also learned to play the violin. The family observed Shabbat every week and celebrated the holidays. In 1938, Mukacevo and the surrounding region of Czechoslovakia were annexed by Hungary and the name was changed to Munkacs. Terez finished school and began working as a cosmetician at a beauty school. The Hungarians were more anti-Semitic but their lives continued normally. Terez encouraged the family to adopt a child, and her grandmother Zeni adopted a Jewish orphan, six year old Shmuel. Hungary had anti-Jewish laws similar to those of its ally, Nazi Germany. In 1940, Miriam went to Budapest to stay with her stepsister from their father’s first marriage. Roza later wrote to tell her to stay there, as it was safer. Hungary participated in the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. After the German retreat from Stalingrad In early 1943, Hungary sought a separate peace with the Allies. That year, Miriam sent to a labor camp in Csepel, near Budapest, where she worked in an ammunition factory. In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary. Jews in the countryside were gathered into regional holding centers as the Germans, with Hungarian cooperation, prepared for mass deportations. In April, a Jewish ghetto was formed in Munkac…
identifier: irn76823
has or had holder: us-005578
has record set type: Item
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn47491-irn76823/alternateIDs/1
archival history: The armband was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Terez Gruenberger Mermelstein.
title: White armband embroidered with prisoner number worn by a Hungarian slave laborer
type: RecordSet
date: approximately 1944 November-1945 April
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Rectangular, narrow white cloth sewn together at the back to create a circular armband. German text and a prisoner number are embroidered in black and gray thread on the front. front, embroidered, black and gray thread : Ung. H. / 46076
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Width: 7.000 inches (17.78 cm)
is or was included in: us-005578-irn47491
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn47491-irn76823/acquisitions/1
scope and content: White cloth armband owned by Terez Gruenberger, which was worn by her younger sister Miriam, 21, when both were imprisoned in Torgau slave labor camp from November 1944 to April 1945. It is embroidered with Ung H. for Hungarian and 46076, Miriam's prisoner number; Terez was 46077. In November 1938, Hungary annexed part of Czechoslovakia, including Munkacs (Mukacheve, Ukraine) where Terez and Miriam lived with their mother, Roszi and their maternal grandparents, Ludvik and Zeni Gruenberger. Miriam went to Budapest in 1940 and, in 1943, was sent to Csepel labor camp. In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary. In May, Terez and her family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where 23 year old Terez was selected for labor. Their mother, grandparents, and adopted brother Shmuel were killed in the gas chambers. Miriam had been deported from Csepel to Birkenau in May and the sisters were reunited in the camp. In November, they were deported to Torgau slave labor camp in Germany. In April 1945, Terez and Miriam were liberated by Allied forces. They were repatriated to Czechoslovakia. Miriam returned to Munkacs and was able to recover some family belongings, but was told she was not welcome. Terez and her husband emigrated to New York in 1948. Miriam and her husband left for Israel in 1949.