Concentration camp uniform jacket worn by a Polish Jewish woman in multiple concentration camps
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Striped concentration camp uniform jacket, winter issue, provided to 31 year old Mania Ganzweich in Aischwitz-Birkenau, and worn from 1943 to 1945 in Birkenau, Ravensbrueck, Malchow, and Taucha concentration camps. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Mania and her second husband, Szlama Ganzweich, moved from Czestochowa to her hometown Sosnowiec, joining her daughter from her first marriage, Halina Merin, and her parents Pinchas and Chana Grandapel. Mania’s first husband Moniek Merin was head of the Judenrat. After Moniek was sent to Auschwitz in June 1943, Mania paid a Polish farmer to hide Halina. In August 1943, as the ghetto was liquidated, Mania joined Halina. They were captured around September 1943 and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Mania was assigned prisoner number 76335 and Halina 76336. On January 18, 1945, they were sent on forced marches to Ravensbruck, Malchow, and Taucha. After the guards abandoned Taucha in April 1945, Mania and Halina fled into the woods and were liberated by American troops. In Erding, Germany, they were reunited with two of Mania’s sisters. Mania’s parents and third sister were killed in Auschwitz and her brother and his family were killed in Treblinka. Mania and Halina emigrated to the United States in 1947.
- Title: Concentration camp uniform jacket worn by a Polish Jewish woman in multiple concentration camps
- Provenance: The concentration camp jacket was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by Mary Schubert.
- Subject Keywords: Concentration camp inmates--Germany--Biography. Concentration camp inmates--Poland--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Personal narratives. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Personal narratives. Holocaust survivors--New York--Biography. Women concentration camp inmates--Germany--Biography. Women concentration camp inmates--Poland--Biography.
- Type: Clothing and Dress
- Rights: Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: Blue and gray vertically striped coarse cotton jacket, winter issue, hip length, with long sleeves and a collar with flat ends. The front opening has 1 gray plastic button at the top right. The other 4 buttons are missing, with dark blue thread where they were attached. The left placket has 5 worn buttonholes, which are finished but fraying. There are vertical seams on the front and back, left and right of center, where the jacket was taken in. There is a gray cloth hanging loop at the inside back of the neck. The hems and seams are machine finished, and the cuffs are frayed. The cloth is discolored and stained, with many holes and repairs.
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