us-005578-irn520964-irn520967
type: RecordSet
archival history: The jacket and belt were donated the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2002 by Dorit Isaacsohn, the daughter of Julius and Gertrud Isaacsohn.
biographical history: Gertrud Koh was born on June 3, 1901, in Gratz, Germany (Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland), to Alex and Dorothea Koh. She had two brothers and a sister. Following the end of World War I, Gertrud’s family moved to Berlin, Germany. As a young woman, she learned to sew and with additional training became a master seamstress. In May 1931, Gertrud married Julius Isaacsohn, a Berlin native. He was born on November 19, 1891, to Herrman Benjamin and Ernestine Kaiser Isaacsohn, and had several brothers. Julius was a garment maker and coat and suit designer who imported fabric. On July 15, 1933, Gertrud and Julius’ daughter, Dorothea (Dorit,) was born. Gertrud ran a dressmaking business in their apartment and employed a non-Jewish woman, Lucie Gardner. They made a good living, lived in a predominantly Jewish area, and attended a large synagogue. The Nazi regime took power in 1933, and began actively persecuting Jews. Gertrud’s employee Lucie was not allowed to work for a Jewish woman. In 1938, Julius and Gertrud lost their jobs. In early 1939, they attempted to leave Germany, but could not get visas. They sent 6 year old Dorit to Brussels, Belgium, to live with Gertrud’s sister, Anna Kaufman. She, her husband, and stepson had fled to Brussels earlier because Anna’s stepson was gay and was persecuted by the Nazis. Gertrud’s brother Ludwig also lived in Brussels. Dorit had diphtheria when she arrived and was hospitalized, before going to live with her aunt Anna. Gertrud and Julius were forced to house displaced Jewish families in their apartment. The war began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Shortly after, on May 10, 1940, Germany invaded Belgium. A year later, Gertrud and Julius had Dorit returned to Berlin with the help of a family friend. Gertrud and Julius became forced laborers for the German government: Gertrud at a Kurt Seidel factory sewing leather army goods, and Julius at a lumber yard. On February 27, 1943, Gertrud heard that there was going to be a la…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: a. Long sleeved, hip-length, lightweight, textured navy blue cloth women’s jacket with a notched collar fastened with a pearled, plastic button sewn to the underside of the left notch with a corresponding thread loop to the right. The jacket has a 4 button placket along the front with cloth covered, metal shank buttons sewn along the left side and finished buttonholes on the right. To either side of the placket, the contoured front panels of the body have been removed and replaced with cloth piping shaped and stitched with thread to form an elaborate, stylized scroll and floral openwork design. The cloth is slightly gathered along the shoulder seams, and the loose sleeves taper at the wrists, where they are secured with 2 small, cloth covered shank buttons and small cloth loops. The sleeves have been shortened, and a previous 3rd button was removed and the loop tucked within the sleeve. The jacket tapers at the waist and flares at the hip. On each side, at the waist, a cloth loop for a belt (b) is sewn into the side seam. On the back, a panel of material sewn at the waist adds a loose, peplum element to the lower third. The unlined jacket is fitted and neatly tailored with finished hems on the exterior and raw edged seams inside. It has been altered in several places, and there are small snags in the material from use. b. Lightweight, textured navy blue cloth belt for a woman’s jacket (a) with a strip of stiff, black, woven cloth sewn to the back for support. Sewn to the top of the square end with black thread are 2 black painted metal snap sockets, with the corresponding snap studs sewn to the underside of the opposite, pointed end. The belt has a neatly hemmed edge with some fraying on the back and ends.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1936-01-01
has end date: 1937-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn520967
is or was included in: us-005578-irn520964
record resource extent: a: Height: 22.750 inches (57.785 cm) | Width: 13.875 inches (35.243 cm) b: Height: 39.875 inches (101.283 cm) | Width: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Handmade jacket and belt designed and created by Gertrud Koh Isaacsohn, a Jewish dressmaker in prewar Berlin, Germany. In 1938, Gertrud and her husband Julius, a coat and suit designer with his own garment making business, had lost their livelihood because of the anti-Semitic policies of the Nazi regime. They sent their daughter Dorit, age 6, to Brussels, Belgium, in early 1939, to stay with Gertrud’s sister Anna Kaufman. Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940, and Gertrud and Julius had Dorit returned to them in 1941. Gertrud and Julius became forced laborers for the German government, working in a leather factory and lumber yard respectively. On February 27, 1943, the family had to separate in order to go into hiding. Gertrud began working as a traveling seamstress and Julius and Dorit stayed with family friends, and Julius’ nephew, Rolf Isaacsohn, in Berlin. In October 1943, Gertrud brought Dorit to live with her on a farm in Wilkersdorf. Shortly after, Julius, who was hiding with friends, was betrayed to the authorities by Rolf. On October 29, Julius was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center in German-occupied Poland, where he was killed. Gertrud and Dorit traveled around eastern Germany making dresses for private clients until January 1945, when they were liberated by Soviet forces in Wilkersdorf. Gertrud and Dorit immigrated to the United States in November 1949.
title: Navy openwork jacket with belt made by a German Jewish woman