Wooden keepsake box from a Sinti (Gypsy) family 2005.453.3 open
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Small wooden jewelry box kept by Rita Prigmore and originally owned by her grandmother, Josefine Winterstein. The family was Sinti Gypsies. They had traveled widely in Western and Central Europe until the Nazi regime restricted Gypsy migrations in the 1930s. Rita's parents, Theresia Winterstein and Gabriel Reinhardt, met in 1941 when they both worked at the Stadttheater in Wurzburg, Germany. Persecution of the Gypsies was escalating. They were no longer allowed to work at the theater. Several members of Theresia's family were forced to agree to sterilization. Theresia and Gabriel decided to have a child, and Rita and her twin sister, Rolanda, were born in 1943. The infants were taken from their parents by Nazi eugenicists and used in medical experiments. Only Rita survived and was returned to her parents in 1944 by the German Red Cross.
Small wooden jewelry box kept by Rita Prigmore and originally owned by her grandmother, Josefine Winterstein. The family was Sinti Gypsies. They had traveled widely in Western and Central Europe until the Nazi regime restricted Gypsy migrations in the 1930s. Rita's parents, Theresia Winterstein and Gabriel Reinhardt, met in 1941 when they both worked at the Stadttheater in Wurzburg, Germany. Persecution of the Gypsies was escalating. They were no longer allowed to work at the theater. Several members of Theresia's family were forced to agree to sterilization. Theresia and Gabriel decided to have a child, and Rita and her twin sister, Rolanda, were born in 1943. The infants were taken from their parents by Nazi eugenicists and used in medical experiments. Only Rita survived and was returned to her parents in 1944 by the German Red Cross.
- Title: Wooden keepsake box from a Sinti (Gypsy) family 2005.453.3 open
- Provenance: The box was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Rita Prigmore, the daughter of Gabriel Reinhardt and Theresia Winterstein Seible., The box was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Rita Prigmore, the daughter of Gabriel Reinhardt and Theresia Winterstein Seible.
- Subject Keywords: Eugenics--Germany--History--20th century. Human experimentation in medicine--Germany--History--20th century. Romanies--Nazi persecutions--Germany. Children, Romani--Germany--Biography. Involuntary sterilization--Germany--Biography. Romanies--Germany--Wurzburg--Biography., Eugenics--Germany--History--20th century. Human experimentation in medicine--Germany--History--20th century. Romanies--Nazi persecutions--Germany. Children, Romani--Germany--Biography. Involuntary sterilization--Germany--Biography. Romanies--Germany--Wurzburg--Biography.
- Type: Containers, Containers
- 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: Small, brown, clamshell shaped, wooden box with a hinged lid. The lid and base have a thin piece of wood attached by glue; the top has an etched design of a shell and flowers, highlighted with black ink.The interior is stamped red and has 2 metal hinges in the back to attach the lid, and a small peg in the top front with a corresponding hole in the bottom front to hold the lid closed., Small, brown, clamshell shaped, wooden box with a hinged lid. The lid and base have a thin piece of wood attached by glue; the top has an etched design of a shell and flowers, highlighted with black ink.The interior is stamped red and has 2 metal hinges in the back to attach the lid, and a small peg in the top front with a corresponding hole in the bottom front to hold the lid closed.
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