us-005578-irn521434-irn514312
biographical history: Gisela (Jill) Renate Berg was born on May 1, 1933, to Josef and Klara Meyer Berg, in the small farming community of Lechenich, Germany, near Cologne. Her father was born there in 1896 to Max and Clara Davids Berg and had a brother Georg. Klara was born on November 13, 1904 in Linnich/Duhren to Bertha Schwarz Meyer. The Berg family had lived in the area since the 1600s. Josef and his brother worked with their father in his cattle business. Gisela had an older sister, Inge, born on March 27, 1929. The Bergs were an observant Jewish family. Max was the president of the local synagogue association. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor in January 1933, antisemitic restrictions became increasingly harsh. Max had to arrange to have a non-Jew run their business.That May, one of Jill’s uncles began removing large sums of money and putting it in Dutch banks. Her sister, Inge, was no longer allowed to go to the public school and was sent to live with her grandmother where there was a Jewish school she could attend. Warned by neighbors of the impending Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938, many family members went into hiding in Cologne. Their homes were broken into and most of their belongings were destroyed. Several family members lived crowded into one apartment. They could no longer enjoy such things as picnics, going to the moves, and taking vacations. Gisela was never allowed outside; her parents were so worried about her safety that they kept her indoors at all times. The following week, Jill's father, his brother, George, and cousin, Ernest, fled to the Netherlands to escape arrest. They were imprisoned upon their arrival for illegal entry. The police told Herman Meyer, Klara’s brother and a resident of Holland, that the men were going to be deported back to Germany the next day. Herman contacted Maurice Silversmit, a leader in the Jewish community in Rotterdam. He told Herman to confront the police and tell them that written permission from The Hague was needed…
title: Silver vermeil cake server received as a wedding gift by a Jewish woman in prewar Germany
archival history: The silver serving knife was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by Jill Berg Pauly, the daughter-in-law of Selma Herz Pauly.
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Vermeil serving knife with a silver handle with a scalloped end and an incised border tapering to a cylindrical, vermeil bolster. The thin, flat blade has a notch below the bolster and then widens to an angled, wavy tip with a sharp point. One side of the handle has a stamped hallmark with the German national mark of a crescent moon and a crown, 800 for the silver standard mark, and WT for the maker’s mark.
has record set type: Item
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn521434-irn514312/acquisitions/1
has or had holder: us-005578
type: RecordSet
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn521434-irn514312/alternateIDs/1
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
record resource extent: overall: Height: 10.375 inches (26.353 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm)
date: approximately 1927
is or was included in: us-005578-irn521434
identifier: irn514312
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
scope and content: Silver vermeil serving knife received as a wedding gift by Selma Herz upon her marriage to Hugo Pauly, circa 1927, in Eilendorf, near Aachen, Germany. It was a gift from Abraham Hollander, Anne Frank's maternal grandfather, who was a first cousin of Selma's mother, Caroline Menken Herz. The knife may have been a family heirloom that originally belonged to Rosa'a mother. Soon after the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in 1933, the Herz family businesses were boycotted because they were Jewish. In early 1936, Selma and Hugo emigrated to Palestine with their 5 year old son, Kurt. They then emigrated to the United States in December 1938.