Beaded bib necklace made by a young Polish Jewish refugee in Russia

Beaded bib necklace made by a young Polish Jewish refugee in Russia 

Beaded bib necklace made by a young Polish Jewish refugee in Russia 

overall: Height: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm) | Width: 10.250 inches (26.035 cm) 

Colored glass bead bib necklace designed and made by 14 year old Nechama Ejnes from beads she bought at the bazaar while living in Kostroma in the Soviet Union. She also made a matching belt which did not withstand the hardships of life as a refugee. She fled Poland with her family, parents Moishe and Chana, and three younger siblings, Miriam, Shraga, and Zvi in September 1939 following the German invasion. They wandered from town to town until settling in Kostroma. They were assigned a single room with a communal kitchen that they shared with several other families for nearly seven years until after the war ended in Europe in May 1945. By 1946, they had relocated to the Rochelle displaced persons camp in Germany. While living in the DP camp, Nechama married Bunim Friedman, a survivor also from Poland. They had a daughter and, in 1949, while Nechama was pregnant with their second daughter, emigrated to the United States.