Browse an alphabetical list of artifacts from the Holocaust and World War II. Each object tells a story about the history and demonstrates human experiences during the time period.
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Wooden sandals worn by a member of the Mir Yeshiva in Shanghai. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Scale used by refugees Masza Swislocki and George Lieberfreund to weigh jars of artificial honey, which they manufactured and sold in the restricted area of Shanghai. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Many observers at the IMT, aware of the historic nature of the trial, created scrapbooks to preserve their own record of the Nuremberg court. First Lieutenant Herman E. Klappert, Jr. was a photographer with the U.S. Army Signal Corps who assembled three such scrapbooks. Klappert's albums consist almost entirely of photographs that he printed himself. Also included in the albums are original autographs from the defendants and other principal figures at the trial, official identification cards issued to…
Many observers at the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg, aware of the historic nature of the trial, created scrapbooks to preserve their own record of the Nuremberg court. First Lieutenant Herman E. Klappert, Jr. was a photographer with the U.S. Army Signal Corps who assembled three such scrapbooks. Klappert's albums consist almost entirely of photographs that he printed himself. Also included in the albums are original autographs from the defendants and other principal figures at the…
Diaries reveal some of the most intimate, heart-wrenching accounts of the Holocaust. They record in real time the feelings of loss, fear, and, sometimes, hope of those facing extraordinary peril. Selma Wijnberg and Chaim Engel met and fell in love in the Sobibor killing center. After the young couple made a daring escape during the camp uprising and fled into hiding, Selma began a diary to record their experiences. The diary was written in 1943-1944 while Selma was in hiding in German-occupied Poland.…
Diaries reveal some of the most intimate, heart-wrenching accounts of the Holocaust. They record in real time the feelings of loss, fear, and, sometimes, hope of those facing extraordinary peril. Selma Wijnberg and Chaim Engel met and fell in love in the Sobibor killing center. After the young couple made a daring escape during the camp uprising and fled into hiding, Selma began a diary to record their experiences. The diary was written in 1943-1944 while Selma was in hiding in German-occupied…
Diaries reveal some of the most intimate, heart-wrenching accounts of the Holocaust. They record in real time the feelings of loss, fear, and, sometimes, hope of those facing extraordinary peril. Selma Wijnberg and Chaim Engel met and fell in love in the Sobibor killing center. After the young couple made a daring escape during the camp uprising and fled into hiding, Selma began a diary to record their experiences. The diary was written in 1943-1944 while Selma was in hiding in German-occupied…
Signs excluding Jews, such as the sign shown here, were posted in public places (including parks, theaters, movie houses, and restaurants) throughout Nazi Germany. This sign states in German: "Jews are not wanted here."
One of many signs displayed along the Shanghai ghetto's boundaries: "Stateless Refugees are Prohibited to Pass Here without Permission". This plaque was removed by a refugee at the end of the war. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Goblets used in Shanghai by the Caspary family for blessings (Kiddush) over wine on the Sabbath or Jewish holidays. The Orthodox Casparys ran a kosher restaurant frequented by yeshiva students from Poland. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
This Singer sewing machine was used by shoemakers in the Lodz ghetto, Poland. As early as May 1940, the Germans began to establish factories in the ghetto and to utilize Jewish residents for forced labor. By August 1942, there were almost 100 factories within the ghetto. The major factories produced textiles, especially uniforms, for the German army.
Sketch from the scrapbook of Donald Coster presented to him during his inspection of the internment camp in Djelfa. The page is entitled, "All roads don't lead to Rome." Djelfa, Algeria, ca. 1941.
Sketch from the scrapbook of Donald Coster presented to him during his inspection of the internment camp in Djelfa. The page is entitled, "Gulliver's travels to Djelfa." Djelfa, Algeria, ca. 1942.
This small patterned hooked rug was used as a shoe mat in the wagon of Rita Prigmore and her family when she was a child in Wurzberg, Germany, after World War II. Rita and her family were members of the Sinti group of Roma (Gypsies). She and her twin sister Rolanda were born in 1943. Rolanda died as a result of medical experiments on twins in the clinic where they were born. Rita was returned to her family in 1944. She and her mother survived the war and moved to the United States, before returning to…
Carl Atkin was United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) director at the Deggendorf displaced persons camp. He received a songbook created by the survivors in his care. This page shows one of the songs compiled in the book.
A souvenir stamp book that belonged to a Jewish refugee. The book contains multicolored stamps inscribed with dates and place names. May 1941, Kobe, Japan. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Photo album containing photographs taken by a passenger aboard the St. Louis, with a depiction of the ship on the cover. In 1939, this German ocean liner carried Jewish refugees seeking temporary refuge in Cuba. It was forced to return to Europe after Cuba refused to allow the refugees entry into the country.
A special issue of Serbian stamps bearing antisemitic and anti-Masonic themes dating from the German occupation. The series was issued for an exhibition on Jews and Freemasons in Belgrade in 1942.
SS Major General Juergen Stroop, commander of German forces that suppressed the Warsaw ghetto uprising, compiled an album of photographs and other materials. This album, later known as "The Stroop Report," was introduced as evidence at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Here, its cover is marked with an IMT evidence stamp.
A few Polish Jewish refugees left Japan to join a small Jewish community in Harbin, Manchuria, in Japanese-occupied China. One of them carried this suitcase, covered with stickers from various shipping firms and hotels, on the journey to Harbin. China, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
A small group of Jewish refugees left Japan to join a small Jewish community in Harbin, Manchuria, in Japanese-occupied China. This image shows the interior of a leather suitcase carried by one of them to Harbin, China, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
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