us-005578-irn85553-irn1036
type: RecordSet
archival history: The scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by Charles and Hana Bruml.
biographical history: Karel (Charles) Bruml was born on October 5, 1912, to Jindrich and Irma Schindler Bruml in Prague, Czech Republic, Austro-Hungary. Jindrich was born in 1882 in Strazov to Abraham and Anna Steinreich Bruml and had approximately 10 siblings. Jindrich was a businessman and owned several shoe factories. Irma was born in 1885 in Trebenice to Jacob and Anna Getreuer Schindler. Karel had 2 younger siblings: Otto, b.1916, and Anna, b. 1922. Karel’s family was prosperous and employed a maid. They spoke Czech and German. They were Jewish, but did not keep kosher and rarely attended synagogue. Karel attended a Czech school and took art classes at his synagogue and with a private teacher. Karel’s father often partnered with his brother Richard, b.1884, on business deals. Richard was married to Helene Fischer and Karel was very close to her brother Karel Fischer (1889-1975), a railroad engineer and transportation expert, whom he thought of as an uncle. Karel was a draftsman at a design company. On September 29, 1938, Germany annexed the Sudetenland border region. On March 15, 1939, Germany invaded Prague and absorbed the Bohemia and Moravia provinces, which were governed by a Reich Protector. Karel’s uncle Richard was secretary of the Pilsen branch of the Czechoslovakian Social Democratic party, and was jailed in Germany as a political prisoner. Several antisemitic regulations were enacted: Jews lost their jobs and property; were banned from areas of the city or shopping at certain times. Karel was fired because he was a Jew and his father’s businesses were confiscated. The family had to turn their radio and valuables over to the authorities. Jews were not allowed to have gold or silver, so Karel’s father hid jewelry and bought cheap jewelry to turn over instead. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded neighboring Poland, and World War II began when Great Britain and France declared war. In September 1941, Reinhard Heydrich, SS chief of Reich security, became Reich Protector. Jews…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Small, square, paper token in red ink. The camp name, series letter, and denomination RM 2 are printed within a geometric design upon a background of closely spaced vertical lines. On the back is a block of German text and the serial number. It is very creased and soiled.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1945 February-approximately 1945 March
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had subject: 176
has or had subject: 627
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn1036
is or was included in: us-005578-irn85553
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.375 inches (6.033 cm) | Width: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Mittelbau labor camp token, value 2 mark, issued to Karel Bruml while an inmate at Dora-Mittelbau / Nordhausen concentration camp in spring 1945. The coupons could sometimes be exchanged for food rations. Non-Jews could use them for brothel visits.Karel was from Prague which was annexed by Germany in March 1939. On December 10, 1941, Karel, his parents, Jindrich and Irma, his siblings, Anna and Otto, and Otto’s wife Irma were transported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp. Karel was assigned to work in the technical department. On October 26, 1942, Karel’s parents and sister were selected for deportation and Karel volunteered to go with them. They were sent to Auschwitz. Karel was then force marched to Buna. He moved building materials until reassigned. In early 1945, Karel was transferred to Gleiwitz, Nordhausen, and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. On April 15, Bergen-Belsen was liberated by British soldiers. Karel returned to Prague after the war ended in early May. He learned that most of his family had perished. He met Hana Schiff Suk, who had survived Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Kudowa-Sackisch. They both left for the United States in 1946, where they married.
title: Mittelbau forced labor camp scrip, 2 Reichsmark, issued to a Czech Jewish prisoner