Loading

Commemorative coin with a swastika and Star of David owned by a young Jewish girl who fled Nazi Germany 2005.464.1 front

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States

Commemorative coin issued to encourage immigration that belonged to 8 year old Mara Vishniac, a young Jewish girl who left Nazi Germany with her family in 1938-1940. The coin was struck in 1934 to memorialize the journey of Baron von Mildenstein, a Nazi party member, to Palestine. The trip resulted in a pro-Zionist report encouraging Jewish emigration, published in the nationalist newspaper, Der Angriff. Mara lived in Berlin with her parents, Roman and Luta, and brother, Wolf. After Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Jews experienced increasingly harsh persecution. Following the Kristallnacht pogrom on November 9-10, 1938, Mara, 12, and her brother, 16, were sent to live with relatives in Riga, Latvia. A few months later, Mara was sent to a home for refugee children in Sweden. In 1940, Mara, her mother, and brother moved to Stockholm and obtained visas to travel to the United States. Her father was arrested as an enemy alien in German occupied Paris and imprisoned. He escaped after three months and, with the aid of the JDC, which had sponsored his photography, he obtained a visa to the US. The family reunited in Lisbon, Portugal, and left on the SS Siboney, arriving in New York on December 31, 1940.

Commemorative coin issued to encourage immigration that belonged to 8 year old Mara Vishniac, a young Jewish girl who left Nazi Germany with her family in 1938-1940. The coin was struck in 1934 to memorialize the journey of Baron von Mildenstein, a Nazi party member, to Palestine. The trip resulted in a pro-Zionist report encouraging Jewish emigration, published in the nationalist newspaper, Der Angriff. Mara lived in Berlin with her parents, Roman and Luta, and brother, Wolf. After Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Jews experienced increasingly harsh persecution. Following the Kristallnacht pogrom on November 9-10, 1938, Mara, 12, and her brother, 16, were sent to live with relatives in Riga, Latvia. A few months later, Mara was sent to a home for refugee children in Sweden. In 1940, Mara, her mother, and brother moved to Stockholm and obtained visas to travel to the United States. Her father was arrested as an enemy alien in German occupied Paris and imprisoned. He escaped after three months and, with the aid of the JDC, which had sponsored his photography, he obtained a visa to the US. The family reunited in Lisbon, Portugal, and left on the SS Siboney, arriving in New York on December 31, 1940.

Details

  • Title: Commemorative coin with a swastika and Star of David owned by a young Jewish girl who fled Nazi Germany 2005.464.1 front
  • Location: Germany--Emigration and immigration--Biography. Palestine--Emigration and immigration--Biography., Germany--Emigration and immigration--Biography. Palestine--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
  • Provenance: The commemorative coin was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Mara Vishniac Kohn., The commemorative coin was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Mara Vishniac Kohn.
  • Subject Keywords: Jewish children in the Holocaust--Germany--Biography. Jewish families--Germany--Berlin--Biography. Jewish refugees--United States--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--United States. Zionism--Germany--Biography., Jewish children in the Holocaust--Germany--Biography. Jewish families--Germany--Berlin--Biography. Jewish refugees--United States--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--United States. Zionism--Germany--Biography.
  • Type: Exchange Media, Exchange Media
  • 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: Circular, bronze colored metal coin with a smooth edge and an embossed design on the front of a Star of David encircled by German text, with a raised rim. The back features an embossed swastika with 3 lines of German text below within a circle with a raised border next to the raised rim. The printer's name is embossed in small print along the lower edge., Circular, bronze colored metal coin with a smooth edge and an embossed design on the front of a Star of David encircled by German text, with a raised rim. The back features an embossed swastika with 3 lines of German text below within a circle with a raised border next to the raised rim. The printer's name is embossed in small print along the lower edge.

Additional Items

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Flash this QR Code to get the app
Google apps