us-005578-irn562193-irn562198
date: approximately 1924-1996
title: Rectangular cutting template brought with an Austrian Jewish refugee
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn562193-irn562198/alternateIDs/1
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has or had holder: us-005578
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Flat, rectangular, brown cardboard pattern template with 1 slightly shorter end. Handwritten numbers, calculations, and marks are scattered across both sides in pencil and black ink. A vertical, rectangular box around a line is faintly stamped on 1 end. It is creased, worn, and discolored.
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn562193-irn562198/acquisitions/1
scope and content: Cardboard cutting template brought with Isidor Muschel, his wife, Ida, and their daughter, Dorit, when they left Vienna, Austria, for the United States in 1938. Isidor, a master furrier, used this rectangular template to shape sections of animal fur for use in handcrafted garments. On March 13, 1938, Germany annexed Austria. New legislation was created that quickly restricted Jewish life. Not long after, Isidor was publically humiliated in the street and later, he was arrested and taken to the train station where he escaped before he was deported. Ida’s mother, Rosa Rubel, helped Isidor, Ida, and their newborn daughter, Dorit, find an American to sponsor their immigration by writing to Myro Glass, a young man whom she had helped years before. He lived in Indianapolis, Indiana, and secured sponsorship for the Muschel family from the president of the Indiana Fur Company. Ida, a Romanian citizen, managed to avoid the German emigration quota for foreigners by pretending to be Dorit’s nanny. In October 1938, the family missed their scheduled train to the Netherlands, and later learned that everyone on that train had been shot by Nazis. On October 29, the Muschel family boarded the SS Pennland in Vlissingen, Netherlands. In November, they arrived in New York City, where they boarded a train to Indianapolis. Ida’s mother, Rosa, immigrated to the US, and in 1939 and 1940, Isidor helped his brothers, Lazar, Edmund, Wilhelm, and Josef do the same. Isidor’s family settled in Indianapolis.
type: RecordSet
identifier: irn562198
record resource extent: overall: Height: 10.125 inches (25.718 cm) | Width: 2.875 inches (7.302 cm)
is or was included in: us-005578-irn562193
has record set type: Item
archival history: The template was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2006 by Doris Muschel Schwartz, the daughter of Isidor Muschel.
biographical history: Isidor Muschel was born on August 26, 1907, in Vienna, Austro-Hungary, to a Jewish couple Ruben and Theresa Guensberger Muschel. Isidor had 4 brothers and one other sibling: Lazar (1905-2001), Edmund (1909 – 1999), Wilhelm (1911 – 2000), and Josef (1913 – 1997). Isidor’s father, Ruben, was a successful businessman. The Muschel family lived comfortably and were very religious. Increasing anti-Semitic sentiment and new restrictions in Austria made it difficult for Jews to further their studies at universities. Isidor had intended to go into business like his father, but knew that wouldn’t happen without more schooling, so he decided to learn a trade. In 1921, 14 year old Isidor became an apprentice in a furrier’s shop and began attending furrier school. He attended school for 3 years, and in July 1924, he earned the title master furrier and a diploma from the Association of Furriers in Vienna. Isidor knew about all types of fur, how to handle them, and the best way to construct clothing from them. These skills combined with his specialized fur sewing machine allowed him to become a successful fur designer. Isidor also joined a Jewish group for young adults and became friends with Ida Rubel. Later, Isidor married Ida, who was born on May 9, 1912, in Bojan, Romania (Boiany, Ukraine), to Avraham and Rosa Lindner Rubel. In early 1938, Isidor and Ida’s daughter, Dorit (later Doris “Dee” Schwartz,) was born in Vienna. Germany annexed Austria on March 13, in what became known as the"Anschluss" Anti-Jewish policies that stripped Austrian Jews of their rights were quickly enacted. Isidor and Ida decided that they needed to leave the country. One day, Nazis pulled Isidor out into the street, ordered him to sweep the ground, and publically humiliated him. On another occasion, a German officer arrested Isidor and took him to a train station to be deported. The officer left Isidor sitting on a bench there when he went to use the restroom, telling him to wait until he returned. Isi…