Japanese propaganda matchbox with a Japanese sword piercing the US flag acquired postwar by a German Jewish refugee
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Japanese propaganda matchbox acquired postwar by Ralph (Ralf) Harpuder. This box features an image of a samurai sword cutting through the United States flag. 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.
- Title: Japanese propaganda matchbox with a Japanese sword piercing the US flag 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, paper covered, thin 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 samurai sword piercing the center of the United States flag; a partial British flag is to the left. There are Japanese characters printed in black ink on the upper right and lower center.
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