The set of patterns was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Ilie Wacs, the son of Moritz Wacs.
a. Pattern for the front panel of a suit coat for an adult male, drawn in black and red pencil on yellowed paper. The drawing is created on a scaled graph with numbers that correspond to handwritten instructions on the left side. The paper has a fold down the middle. b. Pattern for adult male trousers, drawn in black and red pencil on yellowed paper. The drawing is created on a scaled graph with handwritten numbers that correspond to instruction on the left side. The paper has a fold down the middle. c. Pattern for the front panel for a suit coat for an adult male, drawn in pencil on yellowed paper. The drawing is created on a scaled graph with numbers that correspond to handwritten instructions on the left side. The paper has a fold down the middle. d. Pattern for the interior front panel of an adult male jacket, drawn in pencil yellowed paper. The drawing is created on a scaled graph with numbers that correspond to instruction on the left side. The paper has a fold down the middle. e. Pattern for the front panel of an adult male suitcoat with 3 buttons, drawn in pencil on yellowed paper. The drawing is created on a scaled graph with numbers that correspond to instruction on the left side. The paper has a fold down the middle. f. Pattern for the sleeve of an adult male jacket, drawn in pencil on yellowed paper. The drawing is created on a scaled graph with numbers that correspond to instruction on the left side. The paper has a fold down the middle. g. Pattern for the front panels of an adult male suitcoat with 2 pockets, drawn in pencil on yellowed paper. The drawing is created on a scaled graph with numbers that correspond to instruction on the left side. The paper has a fold down the middle. h. Pattern of the interior of a man’s jacket, has 2 pockets, on yellowed paper. The drawing is created on a scaled graph with numbers that correspond to instruction on the left side. The paper has a fold down the middle. i. Incomplete pattern for adult male clothing, drawn in pencil on yellowed paper. The drawing has a few numbers with letters on the right side. The paper has a fold down the middle. j. Blank piece of yellowed paper with a fold down the middle. One edge has a line in pencil. Possibly used to hold the 9 patterns. a. front top, handwritten in pencil : Voolen Toul 1. Rouoh [Woolen ?] / front bottom, handwritten in pencil : gezeichnet mit größen linial [drawn to scale] b. front top, written in pencil : Voolene Hose [Woolen trousers] / front, bottom, written in pencil : gezeichnet mit Kleinen lineal [drawn on a smaller scale] c. front top, title, written in pencil : Mourtel L Rerch / front bottom, handwritten in pencil : gezeichnet mit Kleinen lineal [(drawn on a smaller scale] d. front bottom, written in pencil : gezeichnet mit größen lineal [drawn to scale] e. front bottom, written in pencil : gezeichnet mit größen lineal [drawn to smaller scale] f. front, bottom, written in pencil : gezeichnet mit Kleinen lineal [drawn to a smaller scale] g. front, top, written in pencil : Rücken [Back] / front bottom, written in pencil : gezeichnet mit Kleinen lineal [drawn to a smaller scale] h. front, bottom, handwritten in pencil : gezeichnet mit größen lineal [drawn to scale]
a: Height: 16.380 inches (41.605 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) b: Height: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Width: 16.620 inches (42.215 cm) c: Height: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Width: 16.620 inches (42.215 cm) d: Height: 13.880 inches (35.255 cm) | Width: 16.500 inches (41.91 cm) e: Height: 13.880 inches (35.255 cm) | Width: 16.500 inches (41.91 cm) f: Height: 13.880 inches (35.255 cm) | Width: 16.500 inches (41.91 cm) g: Height: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Width: 16.500 inches (41.91 cm) h: Height: 13.750 inches (34.925 cm) | Width: 16.500 inches (41.91 cm) i: Height: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Width: 16.500 inches (41.91 cm) j: Height: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Width: 16.500 inches (41.91 cm)
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Moritz (Maurice) Wacs was born in Romania. He was held as a prisoner-of-war in Austria during World War I and remained there when that war ended. He married Henia (Helen) Fachs, who was from an orthodox Polish family. They were married by a rabbi, but the marriage was not recognized by the Austrian government as Moritz was not an Austrian citizen. They had a son, Ilie, born on December 11, 1927, and a daughter, Debra, born in 1935. The family was not especially religious, though Henia kept a kosher home. Moritz was a men’s custom tailor with a very successful business. The Austrian population was primarily Catholic and anti-Semitism was common. On March 12-13, 1938, the Anschluss occurred; Nazi Germany marched into Austria and incorporated the country into the Third Reich. Moritz's business was aryanized and turned over to his Christian head tailor, Alois, a member of the Nazi party. Alois had prior knowledge of Kristallnacht that November and warned the Wacs to leave their apartment that night. Kristallnacht was especially brutal in Austria: all the synagogues in Vienna were destroyed, Jewish homes and businesses were vandalized, and 1000s of Jews were deported to Dachau and Buchenwald. Soon after this, the family decided to emigrate. They wanted to come to the United States, but since Ilie was a Romanian citizen, it was not possible to get visas. They decided to go to Shanghai, since it was an open city and required no papers. Moritz’s brother in Romania paid for their passage, since only US dollars were accepted and Moritz could not get these in Austria. They sailed from Genoa, Italy, on the Conte Bianca Mano, August 20, 1939, less than two weeks before the outbreak of World War II. After they arrived in Shanghai, the local Jewish community found them an apartment in Heime Hongkew. The family had only the four suitcases they had taken in the ship; the furniture and good they had arranged to have shipped never arrived. But Morris was able to find work as a custom tailor. He made the first suit entirely by hand, but with that fee was able to buy a sewing machine. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, food became extremely scarce and they pawned Henia’s jewelry for food. In 1943, the Japanese, who had occupied Shanghai since 1937, forced the Jewish refugees into ghettos and conditions deteriorated. In July 1945, Shanghai was heavily bombed by US forces, killing hundreds of people in the ghetto. But in August, Japan conceded defeat, although the ghetto was not officially liberated until September 2, 1945, when Chiang Kai-Shek arrived. After the war, the American Joint Distribution Committee arrived to assist Jewish refugees with relocation. They learned that all their family members who had remained in Europe, except for two cousins, had perished in the Holocaust; Henia’s sister died in Dachau concentration camp. In1949, Ilie received a scholarship to attend art school in Paris, France. With the passage of the Displaced Persons Act, Moritz, Henia, and Debra were able to emigrate to the United States, where Ilie later joined them. They settled in New York City and Moritz continued to work as a custom tailor. He passed away in 1957; Henia died in 1972.
Set of 10 patterns for menswear
Group of men’s clothing patterns created by Moritz Wacs for his tailor’s shop in Shanghai. The Wacs family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but Ilie’s family survived the war.
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