us-005578-irn51101
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Mascha Berkmann (née Rutstein, later Marsha Berkman, 1920-2007) was born in Raseiniai, Lithuania to Rachel (née Seidman) and Hershel Rutstein. She had three brothers, Benjamin, Henry, and Israel. Her father was a cobbler, but died when Mascha was 2 years old. Her mother supported the family by cooking and cleaning for other families. The children were not able to go to school, and Mascha began working at 13. She soon began working in a deli. While working there, she was introduced to Hillel Senjor, a widower with a small child. She agreed to marry him, and they had a daughter, Cecilia, in 1940. In 1941, Mascha, Hillel, Cecilia, and Mascha’s mother Rachel were sent to the Kaunas ghetto in Lithuania. Mascha did forced labor work on a military airport. They were then sent to Kauen-Šančiai subcamp after the ghetto was turned into the Kaunas concentration camp. Her daughter was taken from her in 1943 and perished with many other children from the camp. In 1944, Hillel was sent to Dachau concentration camp, and perished on the march. Mascha and her mother were sent to Stutthof concentration camp. After the camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945, Mascha and her mother were separated. Mascha went to Łódź, Poland briefly, and then went back to Lithuania to search for surviving family members. She found her brother Israel, but not her mother. She went Munich, Germany with the intention of immigrating to Israel. However, she then met Asriel Berkmann, whom she had met before in the Kaunas ghetto. They married in 1947, and immigrated to the United States in 1948. They settled in Los Angeles, California, and Mascha worked in the wardrobe department of Paramount Studios. Her husband, Asriel owned an upholstery store. She and Asriel had one son, Paul. Mascha’s brother Benjamin perished in the Holocaust. Her other brothers, Henry and Israel, both fled to Russia and survived. Her mother Rachel eventually joined Mascha in the United States. Asriel Berkmann (later Philip Berkman, 1…
date: circa 1900-1989
has beginning date: 1945-01-01
has end date: 1948-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had some members with language: rus
has or had some members with language: yid
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had subject: 701
has or had subject: 485
has or had subject: 544
has or had subject: 857
has or had subject: 177
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn51101
record resource extent: box 1 2 negatives,
record resource structure: The collection is arranged alphabetically as one series.
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: The collection contains documents, correspondence, and photographs relating to Asriel and Mascha Berkmann’s experiences in concentration camps during the Holocaust, and in Munich, Germany after the war. Included are identification documents; immigration papers; documents regarding Asriel’s involvement with the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in Bavaria and the Jewish Committee Munich; correspondence; an affidavit signed by 30 prisoners at Dachau concentration camp stating that Asriel was also there and worked to help his fellow prisoners; a document stating that no paperwork exists regarding Mascha’s parents, Hershel and Rachel Rutstein; and post-war photographs of Asriel and Mascha Berkmann along with pre-war photographs of unidentified friends and family members.
title: Asriel and Mascha Berkmann papers