us-005578-irn514684-irn514703
record resource extent: overall: Height: 11.250 inches (28.575 cm) | Width: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm) | Depth: 9.000 inches (22.86 cm)
is or was included in: us-005578-irn514684
title: German Luftwaffe M1935 helmet
identifier: irn514703
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn514684-irn514703/alternateIDs/1
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
archival history: The helmet was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by Nina Schuster Merrick.
has record set type: Item
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn514684-irn514703/acquisitions/1
type: RecordSet
biographical history: Nechama Szuster (later Nina Merrick)) was born in Rokitno, Poland, (Rokytne, Ukraine) on May 18, 1929, to Yeshua and Masha Bryk Szuster. Her father was a builder, mostly of ovens, but also houses. Nechama had two older siblings, a brother Yitzchak and a sister Chana. The family was orthodox and somewhat observant, but her father was especially devout. The family was divided politically divided. Her brother was an ardent Zionist, and her sister belonged to Dror, a Zionist organization, and her mother was communist. Nechama belonged to HaShomer Hatzair and attended Beth Sefer Tarbut, a private Hebrew school. Her sister attended the Polish school. They did not associate with many Polish people as most were very antisemitic. But the Jewish community was very closeknit and Nechama had a happy childhood. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west and the Soviet Union invaded from the east Rokitno was occupied by the Soviet Union. Her mother spoke Russian and was one of those chosen to teach the Russian constitution. The Hebrew school was closed. It reopened as a Yiddish school. Nechama’s mother did not want her to study Yiddish, so Nechama was enrolled in the Ukrainian school. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. A pro-German Ukrainian group took over the government of the town. But it was a time of chaos and uncertainty as control of the village seemed to switch from one armed faction to another. Soon, SS personnel arrived and harsh anti-Jewish measures were enacted. Nechama and her family fled to a small village, Glinne, where most of her father's family lived. The first time she saw German soldiers was when they arrived with Polish police to arrest her mother. Her mother had been a delegate for the Soviet government, traveling to different districts and serving in court. Now Masha was targeted by Polish residents and taken away. A while later, they learned that all the Jewish residents of a nearby village had been killed by their Ukrainian neigh…
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1939-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1939-01-01
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Dark gray painted, domed, pressed molybdenum steel helmet with a rolled rim, short front visor, and flared neck apron, with a ventilation rivet on each side. Near the bottom edge are 3 rivets to attach the interior liner band, a 1st pattern, aluminum alloy, M1931 style band. The leather liner is missing. The dark brown leather, right chin strap is looped by D rings to metal strips on the liner band. It has a single prong buckle; the left strap has broken off. There is a lacquered ink decal on each side: a 2nd pattern, black and white Luftwaffe eagle, diving with outstretched wings, on the right and a shield with the German national colors: black, white, and red, on the left.
scope and content: Luftwaffe M1935 combat helmet like those used by German paratroopers circa 1939. The origins and use of this helmet are not known. It was acquired by Nina Merrick many years after the war in the United States. Nina was originally from Rotkitno, Poland, where she lived with her parents Yeshua and Masha, and siblings Yitzthak and Chana. Rokitno was occupied by the Soviet Union in September 1939. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Nina's mother was arrested and hanged. Nina and her family were moved to Berisov ghetto (Barysau, Belarus.) In August 1942, Nina escaped to the forest during an SS raid. Shortly after this, the ghetto was surrounded and the inhabitants murdered by German SS and local Ukrainians. While hiding, Nina encountered an uncle and two cousins. They joined the Kopvak partisan group and Nina learned to be a nurse. In February 1943, the partisan commander Kopvak sent Nina to technical school in Moscow, where she remained until the war ended in May 1945. She went to Poland to search for survivors, but found none. Nina then went to Eschwege displaced persons camp in Germany. In February 1947, she for America to join her maternal aunt.