us-005578-irn517285-irn517288
type: RecordSet
archival history: The bank note was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Deborah Kronenberger, the daughter of Louis Davis.
biographical history: Ladislav Davidovic (Louis Davis) was born on May 27, 1923, in Belke, Czechoslovakia (Ukraine), part of the SubCarpathian Rus. His mother, Malvina Maizlik, was born on January 28, 1900, in Osry to a well-to-do family. She was the youngest of twelve siblings, with one sister and one brother living in the United States. His father, Yehuda-Yitzhak (Izák) Davidovic, was born on April 1, 1898, in Bilke. He was the eldest of three brothers: Schmuel, Herschel, married to Rose Stein, and Zeleg who ran a lumber and leather export firm, and two sisters, Fanny and Margaret, who lived in the US. His father was a prosperous banker, and also a biblical scholar with a Yeshiva education. Malvina and Isaac married on September 6, 1922 and resided in Belke. In 1937, Louis was sent to the prestigious Hebrew Gymnasium in Munkacs (Mukecheve, Ukraine), where he became fluent in Hebrew and English. In 1938-1939, that region of Czechoslovakia was seized and annexed by Hungary, a longtime German ally. Laws stripped Jews of their rights and forced them out of many professions. Louis parent’s thought they would be able to ride out this surge of anti-Semitism, as Jews had done throughout history. His father had been a sergeant in the Hungarian Army during World War I and thought that also would help them stay safe. Izak was jailed for a short time, but was able to bribe officials and get released. Under the new laws, he was not allowed to have a business, so he found a non-Jew to act as the owner, and was able to still operate the business. The Hebrew Gymnasium was closed with the arrival of the Hungarians in November 1938, but it was allowed to reopen in January 1939 as the Jewish Gymnasium. When Louis graduated in 1943, he was drafted into the army and told that he would be serving as an officer. When he arrived, he was ridiculed and humiliated for thinking a Jew could be an officer and wear a uniform. His uniform was ripped off him and his saber was replaced with a shovel. He was made leader…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Rectangular bank note on white paper. Recto is printed in red ink with the denomination 3 in each corner and a large 3 on the left edge. On the right is a medallion with an image of Lenin in a suit. Around the border is a decorative swirl. At the center top is a roundish medallion with the denomination: три [three]. In the center is a symbol with a ribbon wrapped wheat wreath around a globe with a hammer and sickle above. There a light red три [3] in the center with text on top. The serial number is printed twice on the front. Verso has a brown border with the denomination 3 in each corner and a large 3 in a center medallion. There is text on both sides of the medallion; the background has a wavy line design in purple, orange, and blue ink, with 3 Chervonets in 10 different languages.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1937-01-01
has end date: 1937-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: rus
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn517288
is or was included in: us-005578-irn517285
record resource extent: overall: Height: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm) | Width: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Soviet bank note, 3 chervonets, issued 1937, acquired by 21-year old Ladislav Davidovic when he served in a Hungarian forced labor unit on the Russian front during World War II. Louis was from a region in Czechoslovakia that was annexed by Hungary in 1938. He was able to stay in school at the Jewish Gymnasium, but when he graduated in 1943, he was ordered into the Hungarian army, close allies of Nazi Germany. He was put in charge of a forced labor battalion of Jewish boys who were responsible for rebuilding bombed railroads on the eastern front during the German retreat from Russia. After liberation, Ladislav returned to find his family gone, so he went to Prague. He was eventually reunited with his father and mother, who had survived Auschwitz. The family emigrated to the United States in 1946.
title: Soviet Union, 3 chervonets note, acquired by a Hungarian Jewish forced laborer