us-005578-irn523617-irn518640
type: RecordSet
archival history: The wedding ring was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2006 by Flora and Louis Pearl.
biographical history: Flora Stark was born in Kisvárda, Hungary, on March 27, 1923. Her parents, Jeno and Elva Stark, had a wholesale wine and beer business, as well as considerable property. Flora was the third of seven children: David, William, Lipot, Lilly, Elek, and Moishe. In 1942, after the Hungarians forbade Jews from owning businesses, Jeno and Elva signed over their property to a tenant, in exchange for promissory notes. In March 1944, Germany seized control of Hungary. Flora and her family were confined to a ghetto and then sent to Auschwitz death camp. Jeno, Elva, Lilly, and Moishe were killed upon arrival. Flora’s elder brothers, David and Elek, were selected for forced labor. Flora spent 2 months in Auschwitz. On July 29, 1944, she and a thousand other girls had to spend the night standing naked; in the morning they were taken for showers, issued other clothes, and transported by wagon to Kaufering concentration camp. At first, Flora was assigned heavy work in the forests, building the new camp. On September 19, 1944, an SS woman arranged for Flora to be transferred to the camp kitchen where she met Louis Pearl. They kept in touch through smuggled correspondence and Louis bartered for rings for them to try to exchange in the spring of 1945. That April, the Germans liquidated the camp and the women were sent on a death march. Flora was liberated in Buchberg, Germany. Louis was transferred to Allach where he was liberated. He immediately went to find Flora and propose. They reunited in May 1945, but Flora did not want to marry right away. Instead, she first wanted to return to Hungary to find any remaining relatives. Only her brother, William, survived. David survived the war, only to die in Theresienstadt, shortly after liberation on July 21, 1945. Elek was killed a few days after arriving in Auschwitz having first been sent to a punishment camp. Louis and Flora married in Prague on November 4, 1945. They emigrated to the United States in June 1946 and settled in Queens, New …
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Plain gold wedding band with an inscription engraved on the interior. interior, around band, cursive, engraved : Lajos 1944 Flora
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: before 1945 April
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: hun
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn518640
is or was included in: us-005578-irn523617
record resource extent: overall: | Diameter: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Gold wedding ring acquired by Louis Pearl in Kaufering concentration camp in Germany in 1945. Louis met his bride-to-be, Flora Stark, in the SS kitchen at the camp. They got to know one another through smuggled letters. In the spring of 1945, Louis bartered for 2 gold rings brought into the camp by inmates from the liquidated Łódź ghetto. He had a dentist inscribe the rings: Lajos 1944 Flora. Flora’s ring was confiscated when they attempted to smuggle it to her in the women’s camp. In April 1945, the Germans liquidated the camp and the women were sent on a death march. Flora was liberated in Buchberg, Germany. Louis was transferred to Allach where he was liberated. He immediately went to find Flora to propose marriage. They reunited in May 1945, and after going to Hungary and searching unsuccessfully for any remaining relatives, were married in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on November 4, 1945.
title: Engraved gold wedding ring acquired by an inmate while in Kaufering concentration camp