us-005578-irn85635-irn9867
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Blue and gray, vertically striped, mediumweight, straight-leg, twill weave cloth pants. The blue stripes are printed on the gray cloth, and the seams and hems are machine-stitched with black thread. The English split waistband is slightly lower in the front than the back, where it rises into two low points split by a shallow V-shaped notch. There are five, evenly-spaced, horizontally-striped, short, rectangular belt loops around the waistband: two on the front and three in the back. Centered on the front of the waistband, between the belt loops and above a hidden fly, is thread for a missing button and the corresponding buttonhole. The fly consists of two silver-colored metal buttons and two buttonholes sewn into a cloth-lined placket. At each hip, tan cloth pockets are hidden by an in-seam opening with finished edges. Below the right pocket, stitched on the upper thigh with black thread, is a rectangular, discolored white cloth patch with an inverted red triangle stitched to the left end. Handwritten across the patch, in black ink, is an uppercase letter followed by a five-digit number. The interior waistband is faced with the same tan cloth as the pockets, and has a large, faded, black ink number stamped on the right side. A small, gray cloth loop is also sewn to the back waistband. The cloth is discolored throughout with many repairs. upper right thigh, cloth patch, handwritten, black ink : A - 17488 interior, back waistband, stamped, black ink : 48
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1944-1945 April 22, approximately 1944
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had subject: 0
has or had subject: 43
has or had subject: 3
has or had subject: 7
has or had subject: 433
has record set type: Item
history: Jakob Lajb Lewkowicz (1922-1996) was born in Będzin, Poland, to Judka (1885-?) and Adele (or Idla) Poremba Lewkowicz. Judka worked as a tailor. While Jakob was growing up, Będzin was home to a large Jewish community. In 1931, the Jewish population numbered 21,625, roughly half of the town’s total population. There were several hundred Jewish-owned factories and workshops, a Jewish press, and primary and secondary schools where lessons were taught in Yiddish and Hebrew. After finishing school, Jakob became a tailor like his father. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and the army entered Będzin, known by the Germans as Bendsburg, on September 4. On the night of September 8, soldiers burned the Great Synagogue of Będzin, killing over 200 Jews praying within, as well as roughly 50 Jewish houses surrounding the synagogue. Many Jewish residents were also killed by firing squads as they tried to escape or rescue the Torah and other religious books. The physical attacks were followed by repressive economic legislation requiring the Jewish population to relinquish their businesses and personal property. At the beginning of 1940, Jakob started working, without payment, for the city administration in Będzin. In the middle of 1940, Jewish families were systematically removed from houses in the center of the city, and forced to find apartments in a four-block area that served as an open ghetto. In November 1940, the first deportations from Będzin began when all Jews who were not working in local workshops, or for the Jewish council, were required to appear before a medical commission for selection to labor camps. All of the Jews in Regierungsbezirk Kattowitz region, or East Upper Silesia, which included Będzin, were placed at the disposal of the Organization Schmelt run by SS-Oberfuehrer Albrecht Schmelt. The Organization was an extensive program of forced labor that had begun establishing camps for Jews earlier that year. Since Jakob was likely working in a mu…
history: The uniform pants were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1995 by Jakob Lewkowicz.
identifier: irn9867
is or was included in: us-005578-irn85635
record resource extent: overall: Height: 26.125 inches (66.358 cm) | Width: 17.125 inches (43.498 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Striped concentration camp uniform pants issued to 21-year-old Jakob Lewkowicz in spring 1944, while imprisoned at Blechhammer concentration camp, in German-occupied Poland. Before the Holocaust, Jakob lived with his parents, Judka and Adele Poremba Lewkowicz, in Będzin, Poland. The German army entered their town on September 4, 1939, three days after the invasion of Poland. At the beginning of 1940, Jakob started working for the city administration. Jakob was sent to St. Annaberg (Góra Świętej Anny), Poland, at the end of 1942, where he was registered as a forced laborer. In early 1943, Jakob was sent to Blechhammer forced labor camp in Blechhammer (now Blachownia Slaska), German-occupied Poland. Jakob was still at Blechhammer in spring 1944 when it became a subcamp of Auschwitz III (Buna-Monowitz) concentration camp. On January 21, 1945, the camp was evacuated, and Jakob was sent on a forced march to Gross-Rosen concentration camp, and later transported to Buchenwald and Schörzingen concentration camps in Germany. In mid-April, he was forced to march toward Dachau concentration camp. On April 22, while marching, Jakob was liberated by American soldiers. After the war, Jakob spent time in Saulgau and Rastatt displaced persons camps near Baden, Germany. Jakob sailed to the United States on January 19, 1950.
title: Concentration camp uniform pants worn by a Polish Jewish prisoner