10 ruble gold coin hidden by Shanke Minuskin when she and her family lived with partisans in the Lipichanski forest in Poland (Bialowieza Forest (Poland and Belarus) from 1942-1944. The coins were used to bargain for food, clothing, and weapons from the local peasants; if the currency was not accepted, force often was used instead. Shanke, her husband, Shlamke, her sons, 3 year old Henikel and 1 year old Kalmanke, fled Zhetel, Poland, shortly after it was occupied by Germany in June 1941. Shlamke escaped to the Belorussian forest where he joined a group of partisan fighters. Shanke and the children fled a few days later. They were hiding in a root cellar near the forest when Shlamke found them. He participated in the guerrilla action against the Germans while Shanke repaired and sewed clothing. The area was liberated by the Soviet Army in September 1944. When the war ended in May 1945, the family went to the Zeilsheim displaced persons camp in Germany and then emigrated to the United States in September 1946.
10 ruble gold coin hidden by Shanke Minuskin when she and her family lived with partisans in the Lipichanski forest in Poland (Bialowieza Forest (Poland and Belarus) from 1942-1944. The coins were used to bargain for food, clothing, and weapons from the local peasants; if the currency was not accepted, force often was used instead. Shanke, her husband, Shlamke, her sons, 3 year old Henikel and 1 year old Kalmanke, fled Zhetel, Poland, shortly after it was occupied by Germany in June 1941. Shlamke escaped to the Belorussian forest where he joined a group of partisan fighters. Shanke and the children fled a few days later. They were hiding in a root cellar near the forest when Shlamke found them. He participated in the guerrilla action against the Germans while Shanke repaired and sewed clothing. The area was liberated by the Soviet Army in September 1944. When the war ended in May 1945, the family went to the Zeilsheim displaced persons camp in Germany and then emigrated to the United States in September 1946.