us-005578-irn518787-irn518788
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn518787-irn518788/acquisitions/1
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn518787-irn518788/alternateIDs/1
identifier: irn518788
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1945-12-31
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1939-01-01
type: RecordSet
archival history: The identification tag was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Rosalyn Lerhaft Orenstein, the daughter of Wiktor Lerhaft.
has record set type: Item
record resource extent: overall: Height: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) | Width: 2.375 inches (6.033 cm)
has or had some members with language: deu
scope and content: Identification tag issued to Wiktor Lerhaft, a Polish soldier who was imprisoned in Oflag XI, a German prisoner of war (POW) camp from 1939-1945. In September 1939, the Germans invaded Poland and Wiktor was mobilized as a lieutenant in the Polish army. The Germans took him prisoner and he spent the remainder of the war in Oflag [Stalag] XI. A, a POW camp in Altengrabow, Germany. The war ended in May 1945 and Wiktor returned to Krakow. He reunited with his daughter, Roza, who had been deported from the Krakow ghetto in January 1943, and had survived several concentration camps. All of their family members, except one of Wiktor’s sisters, were killed during the Holocaust. Since antisemitism was so intense in Poland, they left for a displaced persons camp in Wiesbaden, Germany. They emigrated to the United States in 1949.
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Rectangular, silver colored, metal tag with holes punched in 3 corners. It is perforated horizontally across the center, splitting the tag lengthwise. Raised, identical text is stamped on both sides of the perforation in mirror image. front, top, stamped, Osterode has a line through it : OFLAG XI.A. / Nr. 162 OSTERODE front, top, stamped in reverse, Osterode has a line through it : OFLAG XI.A. / Nr. 162 OSTERODE
is or was included in: us-005578-irn518787
biographical history: Roza (Rozyczka) Ludwika Lerhaft was born on November 25, 1925, in Krakow, Poland. Her father, Wiktor, was born September 1, 1893, and her mother, Adela Stiglitz, was born in 1900, also in Krakow. Her brother, Tolus, was born on September 2, 1932. Her mother’s family lived nearby and were daily presences in Roza’s life. Her maternal grandmother, Regina Stiglitz, born 1876, and her three maternal aunts: Mania Ader, born 1892, and her daughter, Alinka, born 1937, Rozalia Klajman, and Roza Sperling, born 1901. Except for her grandmother, the family were not observant Jews. Her father was a director of the Jewish Cooperative Credit Bank and her mother worked in an import-export office and later helped run the Hebrew school. The family participated in the Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO) and the Zionist social club, Ezra Chalutzim. Roza attended Polish elementary school and then the Hebrew Gymnasium. When the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, her father was mobilized into the Polish army. He was soon captured by the Germans and imprisoned in the Oflag XI, a prison camp in Altengrabow, Germany. In 1941, the Germans established a ghetto in Krakow and all Jewish inhabitants were forced to relocate into the Podgórze district which was then sealed. Roza and her extended family lived together in a two room apartment. During the day, her aunt, Roza, a physician, used one room as a medical practice; she also worked in the ghetto hospital. Another aunt, Rozalia, operated a restaurant using black market food; a dozen men regularly ate there. Roza worked in a sewing shop repairing blood stained uniforms. On June 8, 1942, the Germans conducted a deportation Aktion. SIx thousand Jews were deported to Belzec death camp, including Roza’s mother. There was another Aktion in October. Roza returned home from work and discovered that her three aunts, grandmother, brother, and cousin were gone. Seven thousand Jews were deported or killed during that Aktion and were sent to Bel…
has or had holder: us-005578
title: German prisoner of war identification tag worn by a Jewish soldier in the Polish Army
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use