us-005578-irn512914-irn46838
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Shiny, gold colored, die-cast metal pin in the shape of 2 squared-off, connected uppercase letters, U.S. On the back are 2 Ballou clutch back pin clasps.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1945 May 09-approximately 1946 June
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: eng
has record set type: Item
history: Rudolf (Rudolph) Daniel Sichel was born on January 2, 1915, in the Hesse district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to Ernst and Frieda Oppenheimer Sichel. Ernst was born on July 20, 1874, in Frankfurt am Main, to Seligmann and Sophia Seligmann Sichel. Frieda was born on April 24, 1876, in Rimbach, Germany, to a Jewish couple. Rudolf’s mother had one older sister, Georgine, and two younger ones, Ida and Cecelia, all of whom had immigrated to the United States by 1908. Rudolf’s father managed the family business, a haberdashery shop, S. Sichel, which had been established in 1874. Rudolf had an older brother, Walter (1905-1955.) In the early 1930’s, Rudolf worked as a sales clerk in his family’s store. Following his graduation from school, he began a course of study at the University of Frankfurt. Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. Anti-Jewish decrees were enacted to severely restrict Jewish participation in German society. In 1933, Frankfurt had a Jewish community of about 26,000, the second largest in Germany. In 1934, 19 year old Rudolf went to London, England, to study business. In 1936, Rudolf, unable to return to Germany because of the restrictions on Jews, left for the United States aboard the SS Berengaria. He arrived In New York City on May 26, and moved in with his aunt and uncle, Ida and Moe Blum. Later that year, Rudolph found work as a sales clerk at R.H. Macy & Co. He often went by Rudy, and, unofficially, seems to have changed the spelling of his name to Rudolph. In October 1937, Rudolph’s brother Walter and his wife, Elizabeth, arrived in New York City. On November 9 or 10, 1938, during the Kristallnacht pogrom, Rudolph’s father, Ernst, was arrested, marched down the street with his hands up in the air, and taken to Buchenwald concentration camp. He was assigned prisoner number 4173. On November 27, Ernst was released and returned home. Soon after his return, Ernst was forced to sell the family store to a non-Jew for les…
history: The lapel pin was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Howard S. Sichel and Linda Sichel Strohmenger, the children of Rudolph Daniel Sichel.
identifier: irn46838
is or was included in: us-005578-irn512914
record resource extent: overall: Height: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: U.S. lapel pin received as part of a set with pin .29.1, by 30 year old Rudolph Sichel, a Jewish refugee from Frankfurt, Germany, during his service as an officer in the US Army in Europe from 1945 to 1946. In May 1936, unable to return to Germany from England because of anti-Jewish regulations, Sichel went to the US. His parents Ernst and Frieda joined him in 1940. In April 1943, Sichel enlisted in the Army and was sent to Camp Ritchie for military intelligence training. In July 1944, Sichel, Chief Interrogator, Interrogation of Prisoners of War Team 13, landed on Utah Beach in France, attached to the 104th Infantry, the Timberwolf Division. As the unit advanced through France, Belgium, and Germany, Sichel interrogated those captured. On April 11, 1945, the unit liberated Dora-Mittelbau/Nordhausen concentration camp. Sichel took photographs of the camp and other wartime events, which are part of this collection, 2003.149.1. After the war ended in May, 2nd Lt. Sichel was attached to the 9th Army. He interrogated prisoners of war and civilian witnesses and did fact finding missions for war crimes trials. In June 1946, 1st Lt. Sichel returned to the US. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.
title: U.S. lapel pin from a pair owned by a German Jewish US soldier