us-005578-irn521984-irn515239
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
identifier: irn515239
history: The box was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Miriam Ziegler, the daughter of Hozia Frydman (Rose Friedman).
scope and content: Small metal box found by Hozia Frydman in Birkenau concentration camp where she was imprisoned from 1944-1945. Scratched in the lid is the name Mendel Goldblit, possibly her uncle, who perished in the camp. When found, the box contained a human tooth with a silver crown. Hozia, 34, and her daughter Miriam, 4, were in Ostrowiec, Poland, when Germany invaded on September 1, 1939. Soon the Germans set up a Jewish ghetto where they were forced to live. Hozia's husband, Herschel, was interned in a nearby labor camp and, by early 1942, Hozia and her sister Bella were sent there. Miriam had been placed in hiding with a Polish woman, but in April 1942, she could no longer take care of her and Miriam was smuggled into the camp. On August 3, 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Hozia and Bella were transferred to various German labor camps. Miriam remained in Auschwitz until liberation on January 27, 1945. Reunited post-liberation, Hozia, Bella, and Miriam left Poland for Bindermichl displaced persons camp in Linz, Austria. Herschel had died during a death march from Auschwitz. Most of their other family members perished. Canada passed an act to admit refugee orphans and Miriam was sent to Canada in October 1948. Rose and Bella followed later that year.
record resource extent: overall: Height: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Width: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) | Depth: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm)
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Rectangular, shiny, possibly aluminum, box with a hinged lid with a pull tab on the front center. The lid edges are unevenly cut and appear to be done by hand. The sides are triangular and nailed to the base at the back corners. The base interior is dull and lightly scratched. On the exterior are shallow divots and scratches from the lid movement. Three lines of text are scratched onto the lid. lid exterior top, incised : MENDEL / GOLDBLIT / KZ
title: Handmade aluminum box incised with the name of a concentration camp inmate found by another inmate
is or was included in: us-005578-irn521984
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn521984-irn515239/acquisitions/1
history: Miriam Frydman (Friedman) was born on May 21, 1935, in Radom, Poland, to Herschel Frydman and Hozia (Rose) Alkichen, born on September 18, 1912, in Ostrowiec, Poland. Herschel, a former soldier in the Polish Army, owned a stationary and general goods store above which the family lived. They kept kosher, and were active in the Jewish community. Holidays were spent with Miriam’s maternal grandparents, Herschel and Faiga Alkichen, in Ostrowiec, where they owned a fur store. Polish was spoken at home, but Miriam understood Yiddish. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Miriam and Hozia were driving to Ostrowiec when they heard gunfire and hid behind a mill, but they reached her grandparents’ house. Hozia’s cousin found a Polish farmer to hide Miriam. Hozia sewed money for the farmer in Miriam’s coat lining. The farmer’s daughter hated Miriam and made her live under the stairs in the unheated, rat infested barn. The farmer took Miriam begging and introduced her as his granddaughter. On these outings, Miriam saw Jews being rounded up, chased by dogs, and shot. While walking past a forest, she saw the bodies of four Jews hanging from the trees and recognized them as her cousins who had been in hiding. Afraid of being caught, the farmer sent Miriam home. By January 1942, the Germans turned over the Alkichen fur store to Polish owners and deported Herschel and Faiga to Auschwitz. Miriam, Hozia, an uncle, and an aunt, Bella Naiberg and her baby, were forced into a shared home in the Ostrowiec ghetto. During the day, Hozia went to work. At night, everyone hid in the attic. During a round up, Hozia was holding Bella’s baby when a soldier shot and killed the baby. One day, Miriam heard shooting and hid in the attic. When her mother and uncle found her, she was the only one left alive. Hozia found a Polish woman, a former customer in her father’s store, to hide Miriam. The woman treated Miriam well. Miriam did not look Jewish and, if she was seen, the woman said she was h…
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn521984-irn515239/alternateIDs/1
has record set type: Item
has or had holder: us-005578
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
date: 1944 August-1945 January
type: RecordSet