us-005578-irn531115-irn517550
type: RecordSet
archival history: The billfold was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Joseph Shadur, the son of Michel Shadur.
biographical history: Joseph Schadur was born on April 23, 1928, in Riga, Latvia, to Manja (Masha) Hasenson and Michel Schadur. His parents moved to Berlin, Germany, in 1927, shortly after their marriage on June 12, but his mother returned to Riga for Joseph’s birth to be with her family. He had one sister, Benita, born in Berlin in 1932. They were not a particularly religious family, and attended synagogue only on theJewish high holidays. His father worked in the wholesale fruit industry. He travelled widely and was fluent in several languages. Hitler came to power in 1933, and by 1935, Michel’s business began to decline due to antisemitic boycotts and restrictions. That year while in Belgium on business, Michel decided not to return to Germany. With much difficulty, Manja obtained temporary tourist visas and she and the children joined him in Belgium on January 1, 1936. Michel was able to re-establish his business. The children attended a Tachkemonia Orthodox Jewish kindergarten and boys’ school. Joseph later transferred to a private French school. They spent the summer months at a children’s home in Oostduinkerke, where they explored the dunes and the bulwarks that remained from World War I. In May 1940, Germany occupied Belgium, and the family had to flee once more. They left by private car and reached Bordeaux before the French surrender to Germany in late June. For seven months, they managed to get by in Bruges, a country village near Bordeaux. With the assistance of Joseph’s maternal aunt, Gitta, who had emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1939, they received immigration and transit visas. The family left for the Spanish border on December 14, 1940. After two month in Lisbon, Portugal, they sailed on the SS Exeter to New York on February 21, 1941. From there, they proceeded to St. Paul, Minnesota, where Gitta and other relatives had already settled. The family changed their last name to Shadur. Michel returned to Europe for a few years in the immediate postwar period to…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Rectangular, dark blue, textured leather billfold with black cloth lining. The interior left side has 1 pocket with a flap closure and a tab that inserts into a leather strip. Below this are 2 compartments separated by a leather partition. On the right side is an expandable pocket with a rounded edge pocket.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1941 February 21
has beginning date: 1945-01-01
has end date: 1947-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had subject: 001704
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn517550
is or was included in: us-005578-irn531115
record resource extent: overall: Height: 4.500 inches (11.43 cm) | Width: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm) | Depth: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Dark blue leather wallet used by Michel Schadur (later Shadur) in Belgium, France, and Germany during and after the Holocaust. Michel left Germany in 1935 because the Nazi government's anti-Jewish policies were making it dangerous to live there. His wife, Manja, their 2 children, 8 year old Joseph and 4 year old Benita, and his mother joined him in Antwerp, Belgium, in January 1936. After the Germans occupied Belgium in May 1940, the family was forced to flee once more. Traveling by private car, they eventually made their way to Lisbon, Portugal. They sailed for New York on board the SS Exeter on February 21, 1941. In the immediate postwar period, 1945-1947, Michel worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) in Germany as a supply officer for the Wurttemberg district and as the director of a displaced persons camp for Jewish refugees.
title: Blue leather billfold used by a Latvian Jewish refugee and aid worker from Nazi Germany