us-005578-irn49839-irn11667
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn49839-irn11667/acquisitions/1
date: 1945 February-1945 March
is or was included in: us-005578-irn49839
archival history: The jacket was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1996 by Harvey Shreibman.
title: Concentration camp uniform jacket worn by a Polish Jewish prisoner
record resource extent: overall: Height: 21.250 inches (53.975 cm) | Width: 14.500 inches (36.83 cm)
type: RecordSet
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn49839-irn11667/alternateIDs/1
scope and content: Striped uniform jacket with prisoner patch P46984 issued to Erich Sakofski (later Harvey Shreibman) while he was imprisoned at Flossenbürg concentration camp between February and March 1945. Erich was living in Pruzana, Poland (now Pruz︠h︡any, Belarus), with his parents, Nachum and Rachel, and his older brother, Avrum, when Poland was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1939. Pruzana came under Soviet control with authorities shuttering all Jewish institutions and quickly closing or nationalizing all businesses, including Nachum’s. On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded Soviet-occupied Poland, and by September, all Jews in Pruzana were living within a closed ghetto. In late January 1943, the Jews of Pruzana were deported for collaborating with partisans. Avrum hid during the deportation, hoping to join the resistance afterwards, but likely perished. Erich and his parents were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. Erich was selected for work details, while his parents were likely sent to the gas chambers. After six weeks in quarantine, Erich was transferred to the main Auschwitz camp and moved to Auschwitz-Monowitz (Buna) in March 1944. In January 1945, as Soviet forces advanced on the region, all Auschwitz camps were evacuated. Erich was deported to three concentration camps in Germany: Sachsenhausen, Flossenbürg, and Platting before being liberated by US forces during a forced march on May 2, 1945. Following the war, Erich lived at Weilheim and Prien am Chiemsee displaced persons (DP) camps in Germany. On December 14, 1947, Erich sailed to the United States aboard the SS Marine Tiger.
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/403
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Blue and gray, vertically striped, hip-length, long-sleeved, mediumweight, plain weave cloth jacket. The blue stripes are printed on both sides of the gray cloth, and the seams are machine-stitched with gray thread. The thick, reinforced collar has pointed ends with rounded tips and is fastened with a silver-colored metal hook and eye closure. The front placket has five circular buttons stitched to the right side: four made of thick, black plastic attached with off-white thread, and one made of brass-colored metal and brown plastic, attached with black thread. There are five corresponding, finished, horizontal buttonholes along the left side. A rectangular, discolored white cloth patch is hand sewn to the left breast with red thread. Stenciled in black ink across the patch is an uppercase letter, overlaid on an inverted red triangle, followed by a five-digit prisoner number. On the interior of the jacket, a gray cloth hanging loop is sewn to the collar, and there are bound seams at the armholes. Both plackets contain a layer of gray, satin weave cloth interfacing, which is visible through two–inch high slits near the bottom of each side. On the right, inner placket, behind each button, is a finished buttonhole, which has been sewn shut with gray thread. On the interior, front lower left, a square, navy blue cloth bag pocket is sewn with blue thread along the top layer of the top edge. The concealed opening rests against the front of the jacket, on the underside of the pocket, which hangs loosely within the garment. The overall jacket is heavily stained on the front and discolored. There is a tear along the left underarm seam, which has been patched with a small piece of blue and gray striped, herringbone weave cloth. front, left breast, patch, stenciled, black ink : P 46984
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/3
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/0
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
identifier: irn11667
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/2
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/803
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/341
has record set type: Item
biographical history: Erich Sakofski (later Harvey Shreibman, 1925-2007) was born in Pruzana, Poland (now Pruz︠h︡any, Belarus) to Nachum Dawid (1895-1943) and Rachel Ross (1897-1943) Sakofski. He had one older brother, Avrum. Nachum ran a leather business selling raw materials to shoemakers. Nachum was very devout, and attended services at the synagogue three times a day. While at services, Rachel would mind the store, and sometimes Erich would help. Avrum had completed his studies at the local Gymnasium, or public secondary school, while Erich attended school at the local Yeshiva, an Orthodox Jewish secondary school. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded western Poland, and in mid-September, the Soviet Union occupied eastern Poland in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Pruzana fell under Soviet control, and all private businesses were banned. This forced all of the Jewish merchants and shopkeepers, as well as cultural and religious institutions, to close. Soviet authorities seized and nationalized Nachum’s store, and marked his passport to indicate that he was a businessman, which severely lowered his social status. There were very few jobs for Jewish people, and Nachum would have received the worst possible position that required him to work on the Sabbath, a sacred practice he was not willing to break. This decision left him with no income, and had a large impact on the family. Several times that fall, members of the Soviet security forces invaded the Sakofski family’s home in order to call Nachum a parasite for depending on others for his livelihood. Erich’s school was shut down after the invasion, and he was required to attend the Soviet public school and sit through many lectures centered on Soviet indoctrination. The Soviet authorities established a teacher-training course, which Avrum successfully completed and quickly found a post in a neighboring town that helped support his family. In 1940, security forces dug up the family’s yard on the pretense of looking for a cac…