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Medical field sterilizer kit used by a German Jewish refugee nurse and postwar aid worker in Bergen-Belsen DP camp 2005.579.21_g open

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States

Medical field sterilizer kit with container and strainer tray, ethanol burner, instruments, a boxed set of 2 bottles of Lobelin used by Alice Redlich while she served as a nurse at the Bergen Belsen displaced persons camp established in the former concentration camp in Germany after the war. The British army liberated Bergen-Belsen on April 15, 1945, and it then became a DP camp. Alice volunteered with the Jewish Committee for Relief Abroad and, in September 1946, she left for Bergen-Belsen DP camp to care for children and young women. Before the war, Alice lived with her parents in Berlin, Germany, through the rise of the Nazi dictatorship with its increasingly harsh anti-Jewish policies. In 1938, 18 year old Alice left for England to continue her nurse's training. Her mother, father, brother, and grandmother were all murdered in Auschwitz. She met and married Hans Finke, a fellow German Jewish relief worker, at the DP camp in 1948. Hans had been a prisoner of Monowitz, Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Flossenberg, and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. His parents were murdered in Auschwitz and his sister survived in hiding. Hans was at Bergen-Belsen when it was liberated by the British Army on April 15, 1945. An electrician by trade, he began working for the British and then various aid groups after it became a displaced persons camp.

Medical field sterilizer kit with container and strainer tray, ethanol burner, instruments, a boxed set of 2 bottles of Lobelin used by Alice Redlich while she served as a nurse at the Bergen Belsen displaced persons camp established in the former concentration camp in Germany after the war. The British army liberated Bergen-Belsen on April 15, 1945, and it then became a DP camp. Alice volunteered with the Jewish Committee for Relief Abroad and, in September 1946, she left for Bergen-Belsen DP camp to care for children and young women. Before the war, Alice lived with her parents in Berlin, Germany, through the rise of the Nazi dictatorship with its increasingly harsh anti-Jewish policies. In 1938, 18 year old Alice left for England to continue her nurse's training. Her mother, father, brother, and grandmother were all murdered in Auschwitz. She met and married Hans Finke, a fellow German Jewish relief worker, at the DP camp in 1948. Hans had been a prisoner of Monowitz, Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Flossenberg, and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. His parents were murdered in Auschwitz and his sister survived in hiding. Hans was at Bergen-Belsen when it was liberated by the British Army on April 15, 1945. An electrician by trade, he began working for the British and then various aid groups after it became a displaced persons camp.

Details

  • Title: Medical field sterilizer kit used by a German Jewish refugee nurse and postwar aid worker in Bergen-Belsen DP camp 2005.579.21_g open
  • Provenance: The medical kit was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Alice Fink, the wife of John Fink., The medical kit was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Alice Fink, the wife of John Fink.
  • Subject Keywords: Concentration camp inmates--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Personal narratives. Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography. Jewish refugees--United States--Biography. Nurses--Great Britain--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Civilian relief--Germany--Belsen--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation--Germany--Belsen--Personal narratives., Concentration camp inmates--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Personal narratives. Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography. Jewish refugees--United States--Biography. Nurses--Great Britain--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Civilian relief--Germany--Belsen--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation--Germany--Belsen--Personal narratives.
  • Type: Tools and Equipment, Tools and Equipment
  • 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. Medical field sterilizer set: Rectangular, silver colored metal container base with rounded corners. There are 2 fold-out wire legs attached to the bottom right and left sides with 4 foot studs near each bottom corner. When supported on the legs, it would act as a basin; the ethanol burner would be set beneath it to heat the contents. b. Medical field sterilizer set: Rectangular, silver colored metal container lid with rounded corners and 4 sides, which make it usable as a shallow basin. There are 2 wire handles on the short sides that pivot upward as carrier handles or downward for support legs. There are 4 foot studs and engraved text and a caduceus with a crown maker's mark on the exterior base. c. Medical field sterilizer strainer: Rectangular, silver colored metal, perforated tray with rounded corners and 4 sides, which make it usable as a shallow basin strainer. There are 2 wire handles on the interior short sides that pivot upward as carrier handles or downward for support legs. d. Medical field sterilizer ethanol burner: Rectangular, silver colored metal container with 2 openings with threaded necks and removable screw-on lids with a cork circle in the top. The larger opening contains the wicking device consisting of a mesh screen with batting folded into a circle, with a wick in the center. The smaller opening would be used to pour in the liquid fuel, such as ethanol. The smaller lid is beaded around the rim and has an engraved caduceus with crown, the Aesculap logo. There are 4 foot studs on each bottom corner. This canister would be placed under the tray (a.) and lit to provide heat for the sterilization process. e. Flat, silver colored, metal instrument with a narrow center stem that expands into kidney shaped holes at each end. f. Flat, silver colored, metal instrument with a narrow center stem that expands into kidney shaped holes at each end. g. Rectangular cardboard box covered by dark blue textured paper with a paper hinge and a paper seal, broken on both sides. There is a paper label with a blue and black geometric design and product information adhered to the lid top. The interior is divided vertically into 2 compartments; each contains an ampule of a gold colored liquid, Lobelin, a respiratory stimulant. The base is lined with a section of cotton with another piece to place over the bottles. A folded instruction sheet is enclosed., a. Medical field sterilizer set: Rectangular, silver colored metal container base with rounded corners. There are 2 fold-out wire legs attached to the bottom right and left sides with 4 foot studs near each bottom corner. When supported on the legs, it would act as a basin; the ethanol burner would be set beneath it to heat the contents. b. Medical field sterilizer set: Rectangular, silver colored metal container lid with rounded corners and 4 sides, which make it usable as a shallow basin. There are 2 wire handles on the short sides that pivot upward as carrier handles or downward for support legs. There are 4 foot studs and engraved text and a caduceus with a crown maker's mark on the exterior base. c. Medical field sterilizer strainer: Rectangular, silver colored metal, perforated tray with rounded corners and 4 sides, which make it usable as a shallow basin strainer. There are 2 wire handles on the interior short sides that pivot upward as carrier handles or downward for support legs. d. Medical field sterilizer ethanol burner: Rectangular, silver colored metal container with 2 openings with threaded necks and removable screw-on lids with a cork circle in the top. The larger opening contains the wicking device consisting of a mesh screen with batting folded into a circle, with a wick in the center. The smaller opening would be used to pour in the liquid fuel, such as ethanol. The smaller lid is beaded around the rim and has an engraved caduceus with crown, the Aesculap logo. There are 4 foot studs on each bottom corner. This canister would be placed under the tray (a.) and lit to provide heat for the sterilization process. e. Flat, silver colored, metal instrument with a narrow center stem that expands into kidney shaped holes at each end. f. Flat, silver colored, metal instrument with a narrow center stem that expands into kidney shaped holes at each end. g. Rectangular cardboard box covered by dark blue textured paper with a paper hinge and a paper seal, broken on both sides. There is a paper label with a blue and black geometric design and product information adhered to the lid top. The interior is divided vertically into 2 compartments; each contains an ampule of a gold colored liquid, Lobelin, a respiratory stimulant. The base is lined with a section of cotton with another piece to place over the bottles. A folded instruction sheet is enclosed.

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