us-005578-irn522143-irn513780
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn522143-irn513780/acquisitions/1
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
scope and content: Celluloid Schildkrot doll named Zsuzsi carried by 7 year old Judit Gondos when she left Budapest with her parents Bela and Anna on the Kasztner train in June 1944. Judit received the doll from her parents for Chanukah in 1942. After arguments and many tears, she was allowed to take the doll on the train if she carried it herself. The doll’s dress was lost long ago. Jews were increasingly persecuted by the Nazi-influenced Hungarian regime. Bela worked on 2 or 3 forced labor battalions until released in 1942 because he was a physician. On March 19, 1944, Germany invaded Hungary and the authorities prepared to deport all the Jews from Hungary to concentration camps. In mid-May, Bela heard about the Kasztner train, negotiated by Rezso Kasztner of the Relief and Rescue Committee, Hungarian Zionist Association, to get the German SS to take money to release Jews to neutral territory. Bela and his family were selected because of Bela’s Zionist ties. Kasztner failed to raise sufficient funds and the train was sent to Bergen-Belsen, arriving on July 8. After ransom money was raised by Jewish aid organizations, the prisoners were sent to Switzerland on December 7, 1944. Bela, Anna, and Judit emigrated to the United States in 1946.
date: 1942 December
archival history: The doll was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2011 by Dr. Bela Gondos and Dr. Judith Gondos Jacobs.
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn522143-irn513780/alternateIDs/1
identifier: irn513780
type: RecordSet
has or had holder: us-005578
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Celluloid female doll, hollow with molded facial features and moveable arms and legs. The doll has a medium complexion, molded blonde hair with a rolled, upturned curl, stationary blue glass eyes, brown painted eyebrows, and light red painted lips. She has plump features: full cheeks, a round, protruding belly with a belly button, molded buttocks, and plump legs with a slight bend at the dimpled knees. Each hand has individualized fingers, with fingernails, and creased palms and knuckles. Her arms bend forward at the elbow and her hands reach out. A turtle trademark is stamped below the neck. The head has a large hole and several cracks.
title: Plastic doll named Zsuzsi carried by a young Hungarian Jewish girl on the Kasztner train
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1942-01-01
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
record resource extent: overall: Height: 15.500 inches (39.37 cm) | Width: 6.250 inches (15.875 cm) | Depth: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm)
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1946-12-31
biographical history: Judit Gondos was born on April 27, 1937, in Budapest, Hungary, the only child of a Jewish couple, Bela and Anna Ilona Havas Gondos. Bela was born on November 25, 1903, in Erdobenye, Hungary, to an Orthodox Jewish family. He was an active Zionist and worked as a radiologist. Anna was born on June 22, 1910, in Gurahont, Romania, to an assimilated Jewish family. She was as an artist and interior designer. Bela and Anna married in 1934. They had a prosperous life with several maids and lived in a large apartment. Anna and Judit spent the summers visiting Anna’s family in Bekes. Hungary was governed by a fascist regime, allied with Nazi Germany, with antisemitic laws modeled on the Nuremberg Laws. From 1939, Jewish men were forced into the Hungarian labor service, which was put under army command in 1940. In spring 1941, Hungary joined the German invasions of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Bela was conscripted into forced labor two to three times. While he was gone, the family had no income. Judit's mother Anna made leather goods to sell. They had to let go of their help and experienced food shortages. There were constant air raids and Judit and Anna had to go to a Jews only, less secure bomb shelter in the basement. Bela was released from the labor service in 1942 because he was a physician. In September 1943, Judit began first grade at a Jewish day school. On March 19, 1944, Germany occupied Hungary. Anti-Semitic restrictions were implemented immediately. On March 31, Star of David badges were required for Jews older than six. The medical clinic where Bela worked was closed. Judit was no longer allowed to attend school. They had to turn over their valuables. They could leave their apartment for only 2 hours a day, but it was dangerous because the Gestapo would pick up Jews on the street. Bela left home to get news from the Jewish community center daily, although Anna did not want him to go. In April 1944, their apartment building was designated a yellow star Jewish h…
is or was included in: us-005578-irn522143
has record set type: Item