Leather billfold used by a German Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany to Canada
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Billfold owned by Josef Zwienicki at the time of his emigration from Germany in 1939. Josef, his wife, and four children lived in Bremen as the Nazis rose to power. It was a predominantly non-Jewish city and there was popular support for increasingly punitive restrictions enacted against the Jewish population. On Kristallnacht in November 9-10, 1938, his wife, Selma, was shot and killed in their home by rioters. Josef appealed for help from relatives abroad. A cousin in Canada arranged for Josef and his four children, Avraham, Gerd (Jacob), Benno, and Liesel, to come to Canada as refugees. They left Germany by ship on May 31, 1939.
- Title: Leather billfold used by a German Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany to Canada
- Location: Canada--Emigration and immigration--Biography. Germany--Emigration and immigration--Biography.
- Provenance: The billfold was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Rabbi Jacob Wiener, the son of Josef and Sarah Zwienicki.
- Subject Keywords: Jewish refugees--Canada--Biography. Jews--Persecution--Germany--Biography. Jews--Kristallnacht, 1938--Germany--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Canada--Personal narratives.
- Type: Dress Accessories
- Rights: Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: Rectangular, brown leather wallet that folds in the middle. It has two pockets: the right curves towards the outside edge and the left is straight from the edges. German text is stamped in the lower center of the interior left pocket. On the outside are two dotted lines that were created by a sewing machine; there is no thread in the holes.
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