The tefillin set was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by Walter Fried.
Walter Fried was born on September 11, 1913, in Vienna, Austria, to a Jewish couple, Leopold and Margaret Adler Fried. Walter had a sister, Alice, born on March 5, 1917. Walter’s father Leopold was born on February 18, 1883, in Privigye, Hungary (now Prievidza, Slovakia), to David and Josefine Loewenbein Fried. Leopold had three siblings: Gisella, Adolph, and Ludwig. Walter’s mother Margaret was born on September 22, 1892, in Vienna, Austria, to Samuel and Josephine Adler. After graduating high school, Walter completed one year at university. The family spoke German and Walter learned English in school. He worked at an Austrian paper export company. On March 12, 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria. Walter and his family had their citizenship revoked because they were Jewish. They decided to emigrate to the United States. Walter’s paternal uncle Ludwig, now called Louis, had emigrated to New York in 1905 and sponsored the family’s emigration. Walter traveled to Southampton, England, and sailed on SS Ile De France on June 30, 1938, arriving in New York on July 6. Walter’s sister Alice left from Cannes, France, on the SS Rex, arriving in New York on August 17. She was accompanied by their cousins Egon and Hans, sons of their paternal uncle Adolph. Walter’s parents, Leopold and Margaret, emigrated from Genoa, Italy, on the SS Rex, arriving in New York on October 26. The family settled in New York City. Walter worked as a clerk in the credit department of the San-Nap-Pak Manufacturing Company. His father was a mechanic. In January 1939, Walter’s uncle Adolph and his wife Jolan arrived in New York. In January 1940, Walter’s paternal aunt Gisella Glogauer arrived in New York via Italy and moved in with them. Walter married Gladys Elaine Krausz (1917-1995), who was born in London, England. On December 8, 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II. On November 24, 1943, Walter was drafted into the US Army. In December, he became a naturalized American citizen. Walter deployed to Europe with the 243rd Combat Engineer Battalion. As Allied forces closed in near the end of the war, the Germans evacuated many concentration camps and force marched the inmates to the interior of the country. Inmates who were sick or could not keep up were shot and left on the side of the road or sometimes quickly buried. Walter's Army unit discovered shallow graves along a road near Regensburg, Germany. The Army arranged the re-burial of the bodies in a makeshift cemetery at a road crossing near Regensburg. A ceremony was conducted by liberated concentration camp inmates and German officials. Walter, a technician 5th grade, photographed the ceremony. On April 26, 1945, Walter was transferred to the Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) Detachment #208, VIII Corps, as an interpreter. He screened civilian employees for the US military occupation government, interrogated suspects, interviewed informants, and prepared reports. On June 28, Walter was transferred to the War Crimes Investigating Team #6824, Judge Advocate Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army. He was stationed in Regensburg. He took statements from former concentration camp inmates, guards, and commanders. He also questioeed German civilians, some of whom told him about seeing US Air Force personnel who parachuted from disabled planes being killed by German civilians. Walter returned to the US in early 1946 and, on January 23, was discharged from the Army. Walter and Gladys had two children. Gladys’s parents and grandparents perished in the Holocaust. Walter’s father Leopold, 83, died in December 1966. Walter’s mother Margaret, 88, died in August 1981. Walter, 82, passed away on June 29, 1996, in Seal Beach, California.
b. Small, hollow, cube-shaped, wooden removable cover for a tefillin. The exterior is covered with thin brown cardboard, with red paper squares adhered to the sides. The paper has black geometric borders, Stars of David, and Hebrew characters. The interior is lined with fuzzy light brown cloth, now stained. The paper is faded and worn and the Hebrew is now illegible. The cover is for a head tefillin (1988.118.1c). c. Head tefillin with a square, black painted, leather box (batim) constructed of four leather panels with an embossed Hebrew letter Shin on the left and right sides; the right Shin has four strokes. The box is centered on a black painted, square, three-layered leather platform, which was sewn together with gut from kosher animals (giddin) but has separated. The platform has a triangular, notched back with an opening through which a knotted black painted leather strap (retzu’ot) is threaded. The underside of the strap is unfinished. The box interior is divided into four sections, which previously held four parchment scrolls (parshiyot) inscribed with Hebrew prayers (1988.118.1h-k). d. Small, hollow, cube-shaped, wooden removable cover for a tefillin. The exterior is covered with thin cardboard, with red paper adhered to the sides. The paper has black geometric borders, Stars of David, and Hebrew characters. The interior is lined with light brown cloth, now stained. The paper is torn and missing a top side section. The cover is for a hand tefillin (1988.118.1e). e. Hand tefillin with a square, black painted, leather box (batim) with smooth sides. The box is centered on a black painted, square, five-layered leather platform, which was sewn together with gut from kosher animals (giddin) but has separated. The platform has a triangular, notched back with an opening through which a long looped black painted leather strap (retzu’ot) is threaded. The underside of the strap is unfinished. The box previously held a parchment scroll (parshiyot) inscribed with four Hebrew prayers (1988.118.1g). f. Small piece of leather strap which was not reviewed. g. Rolled strip of white parchment with Hebrew text handwritten in black ink on one side (parshiyot). The parchment was placed in a head tefillin (1988.118.1c). Head tefillin hold four parchment scrolls inscribed with a Hebrew prayer, while hand tefillin hold one parchment scroll inscribed with the same four prayers. h. Rolled strip of white parchment with Hebrew text handwritten in black ink on one side (parshiyot). The parchment was placed in a head tefillin (1988.118.1c). i. Rolled strip of white parchment with Hebrew text handwritten in black ink on one side (parshiyot). The parchment was placed in a head tefillin (1988.118.1c). j. Rolled strip of white parchment with Hebrew text handwritten in black ink on one side (parshiyot). The parchment was placed in a head tefillin (1988.118.1c). k. Rolled strip of white parchment with Hebrew text handwritten in black ink on one side (parshiyot). The parchment was placed in a hand tefillin (1988.118.1e). l. Rectangular scrap of unevenly torn white paper with numbers and handwritten text in blue ink on one side.
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b: Height: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) | Depth: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) c: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Depth: 1.875 inches (4.763 cm) d: Height: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) | Depth: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) e: Height: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) | Width: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Depth: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) f: Height: 7.000 inches (17.78 cm) | Width: 2.375 inches (6.033 cm) g: Height: 22.125 inches (56.198 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) h: Height: 11.125 inches (28.258 cm) | Width: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) i: Height: 8.250 inches (20.955 cm) | Width: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) j: Height: 11.250 inches (28.575 cm) | Width: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) k: Height: 4.500 inches (11.43 cm) | Width: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) l: Height: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) | Width: 2.875 inches (7.303 cm)
Tefillin set with arm and head tefillin covers and 5 removed prayer scrolls found by Walter Fried, an American soldier and Jewish Austrian refugee, near Regensburg, Germany circa April 1945. Walter found the tefillin with a pouch (1988.118.a) on the body of a concentration camp inmate who died on a forced march and was buried in a shallow grave along a road near Regensburg. Tefillin are small boxes containing prayers attached to leather straps and worn on the arm and the head by Orthodox Jewish males during morning prayers. The Army arranged the re-burial of the bodies in a makeshift cemetery at a nearby road crossing. A ceremony was conducted by liberated concentration camp inmates and attended by German officials. Walter, 25, and his family fled Austria for America shortly after the annexation by Germany in March 1938. Walter entered the Army in November 1943 and served with the 243rd Combat Engineer Battalion. In April 1945, he was transferred to the Counterintelligence Corps as a translator. After the war ended on May 7. Walter was transferred to War Crimes Investigating Team, Judge Advocate Section, where he translated and interviewed former concentration camp inmates, guards, and commanders, as well as German citizens.
Tefillin set found on the body of a concentration camp inmate by a Jewish American soldier