us-005578-irn47866-irn50354
type: RecordSet
archival history: The razor blade, cover and wrapper were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Yvonne Harpuder, the widow of Ralph Harpuder.
biographical history: Viktor (Kiki) Stummer was born on March 20, 1909 in Vienna, Austria, to Berl and Rachel (Rosa) Fuhrmann Stummer. Berl was born on April 20, 1879, in Lvov, Poland (Lviv, Ukraine). Viktor had one sister, Gisela, born in 1906, and one brother, Alfred, born in 1907. Berl suggested that he learn a trade and he applied as an apprentice at Siemens-Schuckertwerke, a German electrical engineering company. During the Kristallnacht pogrom on November 9-10 1938, Viktor was imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp. He was released with proof of a ticket to Shanghai, China. Gisela secured the ticket for Viktor, but she decided to stay in Vienna with their parents. In Shanghai, Viktor lived in Heime Pingliang in the Hongkew district and worked as a welder constructing bunk beds. In October 1942, he worked inspecting and repairing machinery in the Caffeine Factory for Mutual Chemical Industries. In 1943, Japanese authorities ordered all stateless refugees to move into the Hongkew ghetto. Shanghai was liberated by the United States Army on September 3, 1945. Viktor worked in maintenance at Kiangwan Airfield for the American Consulate. In 1949, Viktor emigrated to Canada because the Austrian quota list for the US was filled. A year later, he emigrated to the United States and on January 25, he married Gerda Lewin Harpuder. Gerda was born in Berlin, Germany, and fled to Shanghai with her first husband and two children in 1939. Viktor met Gerda in Shanghai in 1941, when she asked Viktor to repair a candlestick. Years after the war, Viktor learned that Berl and Gisela were transported to Riga, Latvia, in January 1942, and were killed. Alfred escaped to Odessa, Russia (Ukraine) and survived. Rachel died of natural causes on December 24, 1940. Gerda passed away on November 22, 1996, age 91. Viktor passed away on May 5, 2003, age 94. Ralf Heinz Harpuder was born on April 12, 1934, in Berlin, Germany, to Hans (Hern) and Gerda Lewin Harpuder. Hans was born on November 26, 1901, in Berlin to G…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: a. Rectangular black colored double edged steel razor blade with notched silver colored edges. There is a geometric cut out in the center to attach it to the razor. The front is stamped with the Gillette logo and manufacturing information, with patent information on the reverse. b. Rectangular, thin, offwhite transparent paper that folds inward to enclose the razor (a.) It is printed with a repeating pattern of the Gillette logo, an elongated white diamond with Gillette struck through by an arrow. c. Rectangular, blue paper wrapper that folds inward to form a cover for (a-b.) The front has a rectangle outlined with a dark blue double border; within is a portrait of King Gillette, a man with short, black hair, a black mustache, a white collared shirt, a jacket, and a tie. Above the image is English text and below is a printed signature and English text. The edges have narrow black stripes and patent information in English and Spanish.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1938 December
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had some members with language: spa
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn50354
is or was included in: us-005578-irn47866
record resource extent: a: Height: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) b: Height: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Width: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) c: Height: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Width: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Razor blade, cover and wrapper brought by Viktor Stummer to Shanghai, China, when he fled there from Vienna, Austria, circa December 1938, following his release from Dachau concentration camp. He was imprisoned during Kristallnacht that November 9-10 and released after his sister secured him a ticket to Shanghai. He lived in the Hongkew ghetto and worked as a welder. Shanghai was liberated by the US Army on September 3, 1945. In 1949, Viktor emigrated to Canada and the next year he moved to the US where he married a fellow Shanghai refugee, Gerda Harpuder. They met in Hongkew in 1941 when Gerda asked Viktor to repair a candlestick. Gerda escaped Berlin, Germany, in early 1939 with her husband, Hans, and children, Ursula, age 14, and Ralf, age 4. Hans died of malnutrition in October 1945. Gerda and her family emigrated to the US in March 1947.
title: Gillette razor blade, cover and wrapper featuring King C. Gillette brought to Shanghai by an Austrian Jewish refugee