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Silver engraved candelabrum that Olga and Werner Leszynski brought with them when they fled Nazi Germany in March 1939. It is one of a pair of candelabra dedicated on the 25th Anniversary of the synagogue in Stolp, Germany (Slupsk, Poland). The synagogue, built in 1901-1902, was set on fire and destroyed by Nazi supporters during Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938. In early 1939, the scientific journal for which Werner worked sent him to Prague. He then sent for Olga and their 3 year old daughter, Ruth, who arrived in March. The Bohemia and Moravia region of Czechoslovakia, where Prague was located, was occupied by Germany on March 15, 1939. Werner and the family escaped by airplane to London. Once there, they obtained visas for the United States and sailed on the SS Cameronia from Glasgow, arriving in the US on July 29, 1940.
a. Large circular silver candelabrum base with 4 feet. There is an embossed grape and leaf design above the feet and a geometric maze-like pattern engraved around the center as well as an engraved circular seal with German text. It has a contoured stem with the engraved maze pattern repeated at the widest point. The top has a cylinder surrounded by a wide flat flange with an embossed grape and leaf design around the top. b. Silver central shaft with 2 scrolled arms that fit into the cylinder at the base top, (a). The top and arms have a cup at the end with a wide flat flange with the grape and leaf design on the top of the flange. c. Removable silver cup that fits onto the end of a shaft and arm (b). There is a round cylinder at the bottom, with a round flat ring with the grape and leaf design engraved on top. d. Removable silver cup that fits onto the end of a shaft and arm (b). There is a round cylinder at the bottom, with a round flat ring with the grape and leaf design engraved on top. e. Removable silver cup that fits onto the end of a shaft and arm (b). There is a round cylinder at the bottom, with a round flat ring with the grape and leaf design engraved on top. engraved : ZUR / SILBERHOCHZEIT / VENDER / SYNOD GEMEINDE / STOLP / 1895 [To the Silver Wedding of the Vender Synod Community]
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Silver engraved candelabrum commemorating the Stolp synagogue saved by Jewish refugees
The candelabrum was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Carol Baldridge.
overall: Height: 23.500 inches (59.69 cm) | Width: 15.250 inches (38.735 cm) | Depth: 7.000 inches (17.78 cm) a: Height: 14.500 inches (36.83 cm) | Diameter: 7.000 inches (17.78 cm) b: Height: 10.000 inches (25.4 cm) | Width: 15.250 inches (38.735 cm) | Depth: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) c: Height: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) | Diameter: 2.700 inches (6.858 cm) d: Height: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) | Diameter: 3.125 inches (7.938 cm) e: Height: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm) | Diameter: 3.125 inches (7.938 cm)
Golda Olga Nossanowski was born on January 19, 1902, in Odessa, Russia (Ukraine). She immigrated to Berlin, Germany. She was a concert pianist and performed with chamber orchestras. She married Werner Leszynski, a chemist and editor of the journal of the German Chemical Society. Werner was born in Konigsberg, Germany, on May 26, 1898. The couple had a daughter, Ruth, born in Berlin on February 18, 1935. Hitler had been appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and the increasingly harsh persecutions of Jews made life in Germany extremely precarious. In August 1935, Olga was removed from her position in the Reich Music Chamber by order of the minister of culture because she was Jewish. In early 1939, the scientific journal for which Werner worked sent him to Prague. Soon after he arrived, he sent for Olga and Ruth and they arrived in March. The Bohemia and Moravia region of Czechoslovakia, where Prague was located, was occupied by Germany on March 15, 1939. Olga and her family were able to leave by airplane for London, England. Once there, they obtained visas for the United States and sailed on the SS Cameronia from Glasgow, arriving in the US on July 29, 1940. Werner obtained a position with Schwarzkopf Development Corporation. He had known the owner, Dr. Paul Schwarzkopf, a pioneer in powder metallurgy, in Berlin, and they collaborated on scientific papers. The family settled in Yonkers, New York, where Olga offered piano lessons. Werner died, age 64, on August 2, 1962. Ruth, a public school teacher, died, age 31, on September 8, 1966. Olga passed away in the 1970s. Werner Leszynski was born on May 26, 1898, in Konigsberg, in East Prussia, Germany (Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskaia oblast, Russia). He went to Berlin to study at the Friedrich Wilhelms Universitat. He served in the Germany Army during World War I (1914-1918) and lost a leg in action in Syria. He obtained a doctorate in physical chemistry in 1926. He married Olga Nossanowski, a concert pianist, who had been born in Odessa, Russia, on January 19, 1902. The couple had a daughter, Ruth, born in Berlin on February 18, 1935. Werner was editor for the scientific journal of the German Chemical Society from 1926-1937. In early 1939, he was sent by the publishers to Prague. Soon after he arrived, he sent for Olga and Ruth and they arrived in March. Werner and his family were able to escape by airplane for London, England. They obtained visas for the United States and sailed from Glasgow on the SS Cameronia, arriving in the US on July 29, 1940.