us-005578-irn512955-irn514823
type: RecordSet
archival history: The flower making tool was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Boàz Givòn, the son of Aranka Morvay Tajtacak.
biographical history: Aranka Angela Morvai (Morvay) was born on May 15, 1912, in Zagreb, Croatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire, to a Jewish couple Ignacz and Valerija Schön Morvai. Ignacz was born June 1, 1881 to David Milch and Janka Marmorstein Morvai of Zagreb and was a machine tool company respresentative. Valirija was born March 25, 1888, in Munkacsi Mihaly to Karoly and Ludmila Pfeffermann Schön. Aranka married Zvonimir Veljković, a technician who was born in 1905. With the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire at the end of World War I (1914-1918) the region where Aranka and Zvonimir lived became the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known as Yugoslavia. Their only child Boris (Boaz) was born on February 9, 1934, in Zagreb. Ethnic and religious tensions were high in the new country and Croatian fascist groups, such as Ustasa, were fanatically antisemitic and supported the policies of Nazi Germany. That year, with assistance from Ustasa, terrorists killed the King of Yugoslavia. In 1939, his successor agreed to grant Croatia autonomy. During that year, fearing persecution similar to that practiced in Germany, Aranka converted the whole family to the Serbian Orthodox Christian religion. On April 6, 1941, the Axis powers, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria invaded and partitioned Yugoslavia. Aranka and her family now lived in the Independent State of Croatia, under the Fascist Ustasa regime. A few months later, Boaz’s father Zvonimir was deported to Jasenovac concentration camp. This was the largest of several camps set up by the Ustasa regime to isolate and murder Jews, Serbs, Roma, and other non-Catholic minorities, as well as Croatian political and religious opponents. Around this time, Aranka’s mother fled to Crikvenica on the north cost of the Adriatic Sea. In summer 1941, Aranka and Boaz escaped to Budapest, Hungary. Hungary was an ally of Germany, joining in the invasion of the Soviet Union launched in June 1941. The government had many restrictive anti-Jewish policies, and Arank…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Large ball tipped burnishing tool with a turned, light brown wooden handle with a metal ferrule where the 4.750 in. silver colored metal tool inserts into the wood. The tool has a long metal rod that tapers to a tip which expands into a ca. .375 in. smooth, shiny blackened ball. The thick handle has a rounded bottom that tapers near the rounded neck and top. There are faint traces of red stain on the worn handle and the metal has black discoloration, partly from being heated for use.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1941 June-1942 November
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn514823
is or was included in: us-005578-irn512955
record resource extent: overall: Height: 8.750 inches (22.225 cm) | Width: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Depth: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Large ball tipped burnishing tool used by Aranka Morvay to produce artificial silk flowers from 1941-1942 in Budapest, Hungary, where she had fled with her son Boaz. In 1941, when Boaz was 10, the Axis powers partitioned his country, Yugoslavia. Boaz and his family lived in Zagreb, now part of the Independent State of Croatia, under the Fascist antisemitic Ustasa regime. His father Zvonimir was sent to Jasenovac concentration camp where he perished. Boaz and Aranka escaped to Budapest. In November 1942, they were arrested. Boaz was placed with the Andrash family. Aranka was deported but escaped the transport and returned to Budapest. When German troops occupied the city in March 1943, they went into hiding separately. After six months, they hid together in Budapest until the city was liberated in February 1945. By late spring, they were able to return to Yugoslavia.
title: Large ball tipped flower making tool used by a refugee