us-005578-irn521722-irn515152
type: RecordSet
archival history: The strongbox was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Elisabeth and Maurits Munichman.
biographical history: Herman Munichman was a non-Jewish furrier in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He married Hanna Santilhano, a British and Dutch citizen, and they had a son, Maurits, born on November 26, 1931. Germany occupied the Netherlands on May 10, 1940. Herman, a member of the Dutch underground, stole from the Germans, then sold the stolen items back to them. He used the money to buy false identification papers for hidden Jews. He was arrested, but refused to tell the police what he had done and who his accomplices were, insisting that he worked alone. The Germans tortured him by hanging him in a water filled cabinet, but he did not confess. In 1941 or 1942, Maurits was sent to live on a farm in Austerlitz. He would alternate between there and another location from 1943-1945. Herman paid the farmer to hide Maurits, but they treated Maurits like family and told people that he was one of their children and had been in a sanatorium with tuberculosis. Maurits had blond hair and blue eyes and passed as a non-Jew. Hanna, who stayed in Amsterdam, was sterilized by the Germans because she was Jewish and her passport was stamped with a red “J”. In the spring of 1945, Canadian forces liberated Amsterdam. Maurits was sent to a different farm for a few months before returning to Amsterdam. Herman, due to lasting effects from his torture, died in 1950. In 1953, with help from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Maurits and his first wife emigrated to the United States. He later met and married Elisabeth Blind, who had survived the war as a hidden child in Amsterdam. Maurits Munichman was born on November 26, 1931, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to a non-Jewish father, Herman, a furrier. His mother, Hanna Santilhano, had a British father, eight or nine siblings, and held a British as well as a Dutch passport. Germany occupied the Netherlands on May 10, 1940. Herman, a member of the Dutch underground, stole from the Germans, then sold the stolen items back to them. He used the money to buy false identificat…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: a. Rectangular, heavy, dark brown/gray metal box with a piano hinged lid and slightly extended edges. The surface is speckled with metallic golden brown paint, except for the underside. The top center of the lid has a C shaped, pivoting handle with end rods inserted into 2 balls attached to the lid. The base has a center front keyhole and another hole near the upper left front with a broken metal piece visible inside. The bottom sheet is secured to the base by 10 oval head nails. The box was not opened for review. b. Silver colored metal, 2 bit skeleton key. The round bow has 2 vertical bars attached to a horizontal bar. The cylindrical shank extends from the bow and ends in a hollow key shaped hole. A metal piece with 3 teeth protrudes downward from the shaft end. One slightly corroded side has a rectangular depression at the top of the shaft. The other side is heavily corroded. This key may open this box. It and another key, (c), are attached to a post period circular key ring. c. Silver colored metal, 3 bit skeleton key. The cylindrical shank extends from the oval bow and ends in a hollow key shaped hole. A metal piece with 4 teeth protrudes downward from the shaft end. The key is slightly corroded. It and another key, (b) are attached to a post period circular key ring.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1940-1945
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn515152
is or was included in: us-005578-irn521722
record resource extent: a: Height: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm) | Width: 7.750 inches (19.685 cm) | Depth: 5.875 inches (14.923 cm) b: Height: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Width: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm) c: Height: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Metal box with keys used by Herman Munichman to store papers during the German occupation of the Netherlands, 1940-1945. Herman, who was not Jewish, lived in Amsterdam with his wife, Hanna, a British and Dutch citizen, and son, Maurits. A member of the Dutch underground, Herman stole from the Germans and then sold the items back to them. He was arrested and tortured, but refused to tell what he had done and insisted that he worked alone. In 1941 or 1942, Herman sent 10 year old Maurits to live in hiding. In spring 1945, Canadian forces liberated Amsterdam. Within a few month, Maurits returned to his parents in Amsterdam.
title: Strongbox and 2 skeleton keys used by a Dutch resistance member