The shoulder board was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by the family of Harold Goldberg.
Harold B. Goldberg (1922-2011) was born in Brooklyn, New York to Samuel and Rose Goldberg. Samuel and Rose were born in Russia and immigrated to the United States before the birth of their children. Samuel worked as a presser in a tailor shop. Harold had six siblings and the family spoke Yiddish and English at home. As a young adult Harold worked as a mail carrier and attended City College in New York. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The following day the United States declared war on Japan, and on December 11, Germany declared war on the United States. On October 31, 1942 Harold was drafted into the U.S. military. He entered the army on October 31, 1942 as a private, and received serial number 32613738. He served in Europe until the end of the war. Harold then returned home to New York where he married his wife Rita in 1952. The family lived in New York for the rest of their lives.
Rectangular, dark gray wool single shoulder board with gold thread border trim sewn to gray cloth backing with a gray cloth strap extension. There are finished buttonholes at each rounded end. It is stained, with frayed edges. The measurements are for the unfolded shoulder board. When worn, the wool portion rests upon the shoulder and the cloth strap is folded and passed through the coat so the buttonholes align to fasten.
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overall: Height: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) | Width: 9.375 inches (23.813 cm)
German Army uniform gray felt shoulder board with yellow gold piping brought back from the war by Harold Goldberg, an American soldier who served in Europe, circa 1945-1946. This is the type of epaulet worn by enlisted men, most likely in cavalary and reconnaissance units, in the Wehrmacht.
Wehrmacht shoulder board in gray with gold trim acquired by a US soldier