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Japanese propaganda matchbox with a Japanese plane bombing the US and British flags acquired postwar by a German Jewish refugee

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States

Japanese matchbox acquired postwar by Ralph (Ralf) Harpuder. This box features an image of a Japanese plane dropping a bomb on the United States and British flags. Four year old Ralf, his parents, Hans and Gerda, and his 14 year old sister, Ursula, left Berlin, Germany, following Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938. They left for Shanghai because it was an open port with no visa required and arrived in March 1939. Shanghai was controlled by the Japanese military and as the war intensified, they were relocated to the Hongkew ghetto. Food and supplies became extremely difficult to obtain, but Ralf was able to stay in school because they waived his tuition. The city was liberated by the US Army on September 3, 1945. That October, Ralf's father died of malnutrition. In March 1947, the family emigrated to the United States.

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  • Title: Japanese propaganda matchbox with a Japanese plane bombing the US and British flags acquired postwar by a German Jewish refugee
  • Provenance: The matchbox was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Yvonne Harpuder, the widow of Ralph Harpuder.
  • Subject Keywords: Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Berlin--Personal narratives, Jewish. Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography. Jewish children in the Holocaust--China--Shanghai--Biography. Jewish refugees--China--Shanghai--Biography. Jews, German--China--Shanghai--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--China--Shanghai.
  • Type: Personal Equipment and Supplies
  • Rights: Permanent Collection
  • External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Medium: Rectangular, thin paper covered wooden matchbox with an outer cover with open short sides that slides over an inner drawer. The cover has an abrasive black striker panel on the long sides. The face of the cover has a printed image of a white plane with the red Rising Sun symbol of Japan upon a yellow background whihc has just dropped a bomb on the United States and British flags below. There are Japanese characters printed in black ink on the upper and lower center.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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