Pair of Amstutz spring ski bindings with cloth straps brought to the US by a German Jewish refugee 2004.485.43_b front
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Pair of Amstutz spring ski bindings brought by Karl Weiler from Nazi Germany to the United States in December 1937. The springs are used for downhill skiing and secure the heel to the ski. Karl lost his position as an assistant judge in March 1933 when the new Nazi government purged the civil service of Jews and passed a law to that effect April 7 with the first Aryan only qualification clause. Karl rejoined the family agricultural firm in Brakel. Anti-Jewish pressures increased and, in May 1936, the firm’s board of directors was forced to sell the business at a loss to a Nazi approved buyer. In December 1937, Karl left for the US. After the war ended in May 1945, he learned that his parents, Fritz and Ella, had been deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in 1942, then in 1944 to Auschwitz killing center where they were murdered. His sister, Mathilde Fodor, had been deported from Budapest, Hungary, in November 1944 to Lichtenworth concentration camp where she died of starvation. Her husband, Joszi, and son, Karoly, survived.
Pair of Amstutz spring ski bindings brought by Karl Weiler from Nazi Germany to the United States in December 1937. The springs are used for downhill skiing and secure the heel to the ski. Karl lost his position as an assistant judge in March 1933 when the new Nazi government purged the civil service of Jews and passed a law to that effect April 7 with the first Aryan only qualification clause. Karl rejoined the family agricultural firm in Brakel. Anti-Jewish pressures increased and, in May 1936, the firm’s board of directors was forced to sell the business at a loss to a Nazi approved buyer. In December 1937, Karl left for the US. After the war ended in May 1945, he learned that his parents, Fritz and Ella, had been deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in 1942, then in 1944 to Auschwitz killing center where they were murdered. His sister, Mathilde Fodor, had been deported from Budapest, Hungary, in November 1944 to Lichtenworth concentration camp where she died of starvation. Her husband, Joszi, and son, Karoly, survived.
Details
- Title: Pair of Amstutz spring ski bindings with cloth straps brought to the US by a German Jewish refugee 2004.485.43_b front
- Location: Germany--Emigration and immigration--Biography. United States--Emigration and immigration--Biography., Germany--Emigration and immigration--Biography. United States--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- Provenance: The ski bindings were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Judy Gartner and Susan Oberfeld, the daughters of Carl and Mina Kaufmann Weiler., The ski bindings were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Judy Gartner and Susan Oberfeld, the daughters of Carl and Mina Kaufmann Weiler.
- Subject Keywords: Jewish refugees--United States--Biography. Jews--Germany--History--20th century. Jews--Persecutions--Germany--Biography., Jewish refugees--United States--Biography. Jews--Germany--History--20th century. Jews--Persecutions--Germany--Biography.
- Type: Personal Equipment and Supplies, Personal Equipment and Supplies
- Rights: Permanent Collection, Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: a. Silver colored metal ski binding made of a helical spring coiled around a protruding, flat silver colored metal bracket on each end. The top brackets is a folded rectangle open in the center; a dark brown cloth strap with light brown stripes about 13 in. by 1 in.) is inserted through the slot. The strap has a silver colored metal cam lever buckle to fasten around a ski boot. The lower flat bracket narrows to a thin bar with a curved end hook to secure the ski behind the boot heel. There is engraved text on the plates and the buckle. b. Silver colored metal ski binding made of a helical spring coiled around a protruding, flat silver colored metal bracket on each end. The top brackets is a folded rectangle open in the center; a dark brown cloth strap with light brown stripes about 13 in. by 1 in.) is inserted through the slot. The strap has a silver colored metal cam lever buckle to fasten around a ski boot. The lower flat bracket narrows to a thin bar with a curved end hook to secure the ski behind the boot heel. There is engraved text on the plates and the buckle., a. Silver colored metal ski binding made of a helical spring coiled around a protruding, flat silver colored metal bracket on each end. The top brackets is a folded rectangle open in the center; a dark brown cloth strap with light brown stripes about 13 in. by 1 in.) is inserted through the slot. The strap has a silver colored metal cam lever buckle to fasten around a ski boot. The lower flat bracket narrows to a thin bar with a curved end hook to secure the ski behind the boot heel. There is engraved text on the plates and the buckle. b. Silver colored metal ski binding made of a helical spring coiled around a protruding, flat silver colored metal bracket on each end. The top brackets is a folded rectangle open in the center; a dark brown cloth strap with light brown stripes about 13 in. by 1 in.) is inserted through the slot. The strap has a silver colored metal cam lever buckle to fasten around a ski boot. The lower flat bracket narrows to a thin bar with a curved end hook to secure the ski behind the boot heel. There is engraved text on the plates and the buckle.
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