The vest was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Rebecca Knaster, the daughter of Baruch and Cila Knaster and sister of Mirka.
overall: Height: 12.000 inches (30.48 cm) | Width: 10.500 inches (26.67 cm)
Cila Knaster (1908-2007) was born Esther Cila Hausman on December 22, 1908 in Jasionowka, Poland. In 1942, Cila’s mother Merka Levine Hausman (1883-1942), her husband Jossel Radzi (Yossl Radzi, 1909-1942), and their two children Razel Radzi (1935-1942) and Sholomas Radzi (1939-1942) were taken away and likely shot by Nazis. Cila Knaster survived the Holocaust. After the war, Cila met Baruch Knaster in a displaced persons camp and they married on August 20, 1946. Their daughter, Mirka Knaster, was born on May 11, 1947 in a DP camp in Bari, Italy. Their second daughter is Rebecca Knaster. The Knaster family immigrated to the United States aboard the SS Marine Jumper, arriving on November 21, 1949. Baruch Knaster died in 2001. Cila Knaster died on December 20, 2007.
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Child's striped yellow vest knit by Cila Knaster and worn by Mirka Knaster
Child's striped yellow vest made by Cila Hausman Knaster for her daughter, Mirka Knaster, to wear in Bari Transit camp from 1947 to 1949. Cila and her husband, Baruch Knaster's, families perished during the Holocaust. He was imprisoned in Auschwitz concentration camp, and Mauthausen concentration camp, where he was later liberated. The couple met in a displaced persons camp and married in August 1946. Their daughter, Mirka, was born in May 1947, in a DP camp in Bari, The Knaster family immigrated to the United States in November 1949.
Handknit, sleeveless, yellow striped child's vest with a deep V-shaped neckline. The body of the vest is stockinette stitched: the upper half in alternating yellow and light-yellow stripes and the lower half in yellow. Bands along the neckline and bottom edge are rib stitched, and there is scalloped trim along the armholes. There are many loose threads and small losses throughout.