us-005578-irn521749-irn514937
type: RecordSet
archival history: The pillow sham was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Gabriella Weinberger Neufeld, the sister of Marta Weinberger.
biographical history: Gabriella Weinberger was born on January 10, 1929, in Budszentmihaly, Hungary, to Iren and Miksa Weinberger. Iren was born on December 12, 1898, in Nyirmada, to Amalia and Farkas Cobel Weinstock. Miksa was born to Lina and Moric Weinberger. Gabriella had an older brother, Ferenc, born on July 16, 1925, and a sister, Marta (Marika), born on December 7, 1926. Her father owned flour mills. The family lived in a house near the mills that had an attached home for her paternal grandparents.They were affluent, and had a live-in maid. The family was Orthodox Jewish, and Iren kept a kosher home. After Miksa’s death in 1935, Iren invited their cousin, Blanka Cobel, to move in with them. Gabriella attended an elementary school with Jewish and non-Jewish students, and later went to a gymnasium with her sister in Nyiregyhaza. Ferenc attended a Jewish gymnasium in Debrecen. In 1940/1941, their mills were confiscated. Iren decided to move her family, including Blanka, to Nyiregyhaza. Gabriella’s paternal grandmother had passed away while she was at school and her grandfather stayed behind in Budszentmihaly. Ferenc transferred to a Catholic gymnasium so he could live at home. In 1942/1943, the family was forced to house a German officer for a few months. On March 19, 1944, German forces occupied Hungary. In April, Gabriella, Iren, Ferenc, Marta, and Blanka were forced to move to a ghetto in Nyiregyhaza. They hid valuables in the basement and outhouse, and only brought some money and clothing. Blanka and Ferenc discussed getting false papers, but their uncle, who was on the Jewish council in the ghetto, talked them out of it because he would be questioned if they left. Blanka worked as a nurse and received permission to leave the ghetto. One day, she got into trouble and was sent to Harangod Puszta in northern Hungary to work on the farms. After a few weeks, Gabriella, Iren, Ferenc, and Marta were sent to Sima Puszta. In late May 1944, they were deported by cattle car to Auschwitz c…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Rectangular, circular patterned, pink silk damask pillow sham with a pink satin ribbon border and a monogram with line and dot accents embroidered on the lower right top. The upper panel is sewn to wide strips of cloth attached to a lower panel to form an enclosure for a pillow. On the back center is a horizontal button placket closure with 3 Dorset thread buttons and 3 corresponding button holes. . front, lower right, embroidered, pink thread : WM
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: after 1946 May, after 1945 May
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn514937
is or was included in: us-005578-irn521749
record resource extent: overall: Height: 19.375 inches (49.213 cm) | Width: 25.000 inches (63.5 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Silk damask pillow sham recovered for Gabriella Weinberger by a relative, possibly Blanka Cobel, in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, after the war. It was made for her sister Marta’s dowry and embroidered with her initials. The family hid the sham in their home during the war. In May 1944, 15 year old Gabriella, her mother, Iren, and 18 year old Marta were deported from the Nyiregyhaza ghetto to Auschwitz. In August, they were sent to Struthof-Natzweiler, and later to Ravensbrück, where Iren died. In February 1945, the sisters were deported to Bergen-Belsen, where Marta, too weak to walk, was taken away upon arrival and presumably killed. The camp was liberated by British troops on April 15; Gabriella weighed 76 pounds. She was sent to Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp, then to Sweden to recover her health. In May 1946, she immigrated to the United States.
title: Monogrammed pink silk pillow sham recovered by a Hungarian Jewish refugee postwar