us-005578-irn513048-irn513275
type: RecordSet
archival history: The ring was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Erika Taubner Gold.
biographical history: Erika Taubner was born on August 29, 1932, in Budapest, Hungary, the only child of Zoltan and Jozsa Kovacs Taubner. Zoltan, the youngest of seven children, was born on April 27, 1901, in Budapest, to Markus and Katalin (Katherine) Hoffmann Taubner. Zoltan’s family was Jewish, but assimilated. Erika’s mother Jozsa was born on February 24, 1906, in Galanta, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), to an Orthodox Jewish couple, Sandor (Alexander) and Sarolta (Charlotte) Neumann Kovacs. Alexander was born on April 25, 1869, in Galanta, to Joseph and Fannie Brueck Kovacs. Sarolta was born in 1878. Jozsa had five siblings: Yoland (1902-1984), Paul (1904-1997), Erno (1908-1943), Eugene (1910-1943), and Imre (1913-2000). Zoltan and Jozsa married in 1930. Zoltan owned a haberdashery, which he inherited from his father. Erika’s family was observant and attended synagogue services weekly. Erika attended a Jewish elementary and high school. They employed a live-in, non-Jewish housekeeper, Ilonka Takats. Zoltan’s parents and siblings lived in Budapest and they saw each other weekly. Erika spent the holidays and summer vacations in Galanta with Jozsa’s family. Hungary was a close ally of Nazi Germany. In November 1938, Hungary acquired Galanta, as a result of the First Vienna Award. On March 15, 1939, Germany annexed the Bohemia and Moravia provinces of Czechoslovakia. Its allies absorbed other areas, and Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. Some relatives fled and stayed with Erika’s family. In April, Erika’s maternal uncle Paul, his wife, and daughter left for the United States. One of Erika’s paternal aunts also went to the US. In July, while Erika was in Galanta with her grandparents, Zoltan was taken for forced labor service for six months. In September 1939, the war began when Germany invaded Poland. Refugees arrived from other countries and talked about what happened when Germany invaded a country, but Erika and her family did not believe it would happen in Hungary. On March 18, 1944, Er…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Small gold colored metal finger ring with a raised circular bezel for a missing stone. The bezel is engraved with a repeating floral pattern of geometric flowers with leaves, above an engraved line. It has a thin cathedral style band with 2 small open circles set inside the open elongated triangle on each side of the bezel. The band interior has an engraved triangle.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1937-01-01
has beginning date: 1945-01-01
has end date: 1937-12-31
has end date: 1945-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn513275
is or was included in: us-005578-irn513048
record resource extent: overall: Height: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Width: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Engraved gold ring given to five-year-old Erika Taubner by her paternal grandmother, Katie Taubner, in 1937 in Budapest, Hungary. Her parents Jozsa and Zoltan later buried the ring, her charm 2003.158.2, and other valuables in May 1944 in the dirt basement of their apartment, beneath the storage locker of the non-Jewish building superintendent, so they would not fall into German hands. The items were recovered by Erika and her parents in 1945. Nazi Germany occupied Hungary in March 1944. In May, Zoltan was interned in a Shell Oil forced labor camp near Budapest. Erika and Jozsa had to move into a Jewish yellow star building. In November 1944, they found work in a military uniform factory. Josza got Swiss protective papers for Zoltan, which later kept him from being deported. In December, Josza and Erika escaped during a Nazi raid on the factory. They went to their former housekeeper, Ilonka Takats, who agreed to hide them. They were in Pest which was liberated by the Soviet Army on January 15, 1945, and were soon reunited with Zoltan.
title: Gold ring with engraved flowers buried and recovered postwar by a Hungarian Jewish girl