us-005578-irn514208-irn514350
type: RecordSet
archival history: The shirt was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by David Winchester.
biographical history: David Wincygster was born on May 1, 1924, in Ostrowiec, Poland, to Shmuel Gershon and Chana Grafstein Wincygster. Shmuel was born ca. 1900 in Slupia, Imperial Russia, (later Poland), to Golda and Alter Wincygster. Chana was born in 1902 in Ostrowiec to Hershel and Golda Grafstein. Shmuel was a furrier and owned his own shop. David’s family was middle class and lived in his paternal grandmother’s house. David had five siblings: Sheindel b. 1919; Esther b. 1920; Hershel b. 1922; Sarah b. 1926; and Chaya b. 1928. David’s maternal aunt Henia Kestenbaum, husband Alter, and sons, Hershel and Mier, and David’s uncle Fishel Wincygster also lived with them. Both uncles worked in Shmuel’s furrier shop. The family was very religious and his father was a Zionist. David attended the Mizrachi School through fourth grade and then the local Polish school. After two years of increasing antisemitism at the school, David left and continued his studies with a Rabbi. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and occupied Ostrowiec one week later. Troops and locals ransacked Jewish homes and businesses, raped women, and killed leading members of the community. German authorities established a curfew for Jews, demanded money, and formed a labor department. In October, Jews were required to wear Star of David armbands. Forced labor was mandatory for all who could work and getting a work card was essential. David worked for the Arbeitsamt, a type of labor agency, and was sent out to different jobs. In 1940, David’s sister Sheindel married Mr. Bliman. In April 1941, the Germans established a ghetto. David’s family stayed in their house because it was on the ghetto border. In May, there was a typhus outbreak and David’s father Shmuel got very sick. The family paid for a nurse and he recovered. David and his brother Hershel were selected for forced labor at an iron factory. His sister Sheindel was a cleaning woman for the Schutzpolizei and Esther worked at a clothing factory. In summer 1942…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Loose fitting, thigh length, short sleeved, dark blue cloth shirt with white pinstripes. It has a pointed collar and a partial front opening. The left placket is lighter blue and has 3 finished buttonholes; on the right is 1 black plastic button with thread where 2 buttons were once attached. The opening ends midchest with a tab and center pleat. It has a straight bottom, side slits, and a central box pleat in the back. Below the inner collar band is rectangular discoloration where a tag was likely once attached. The shirt is faded and worn, with overall staining.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1945 January-approximately 1945 September
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn514350
is or was included in: us-005578-irn514208
record resource extent: overall: Height: 34.250 inches (86.995 cm) | Width: 19.125 inches (48.578 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Striped shirt that David Wincygster, 20, was wearing when he was liberated from Eintrachthutte slave labor camp hospital in January 1945. Prisoners had been issued a new shirt at the camp every Friday. Later, the nuns in the hospital shortened the sleeves to make the shirt collar so David could continue to wear it. In April 1941, David and his family were interned in Ostrowiec ghetto in German occupied Poland. In October 1942, the family was separated when most ghetto residents were deported to Treblinka killing center. David, brother Hershel, and uncle Fishel were kept behind to work in the aircraft factory. In April 1944, they were sent to Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camp. David was transferred to Eintrachthutte. In January 1945, he was very sick and in the infirmary when Soviet soldiers liberated the camp. After recuperating for several months, David returned to Ostrowiec. He found one cousin, but the rest of his family had been killed. Bricha helped him get to the American zone in Germany. He was placed in St. Ottilien sanatorium, and then in Gabersee displaced persons camp. In 1949, he emigrated to America.
title: White striped blue shirt worn by Polish Jewish slave laborer