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Woman's gold wrist watch kept while in prison by a Jewish concentration camp inmate

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States

Gold wrist watch carried by Marga Gussinoff throughout her imprisonment in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and Vittel internment camp from 1943-1944. The wrist band was added to the watch after the war. In 1943, Marga and her mother, Sarah, were arrested by the Gestapo at their apartment in Berlin, Germany. Her sister, Eva, was in hiding with a German woman at the time, but joined them after their arrest. The Gestapo demanded that they turn over all their money and jewelry, but 20 year old Marga "being that I was rebellious, I had this watch, a gold watch, and I decided not to give it to them. And I pick it, --and at the time I had nice hair--, and I put it in my hair. And this survived the Holocaust with me…”They were in Bergen-Belsen for 1.5 years, then were sent to Vittel, where they were liberated by the US Army in September 1944. After a short stay in a displaced persons camp, Marga went to Paris and got papers for the 3 of them to emigrate to Palestine. Marga used the watch for the rest of her life as a visual aid when she gave speeches about her experiences during the Holocaust.

Details

  • Title: Woman's gold wrist watch kept while in prison by a Jewish concentration camp inmate
  • Provenance: The wrist watch was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009 by Ilan and Terry Lakritz, the son and daughter-in-law of Marga Lakritz.
  • Subject Keywords: Concentration camp inmates--Biography. Deportees--Germany--Berlin. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Berlin--Personal narratives. Jewish families--Germany--Berlin--Biography. Women concentration camp inmates--Biography.
  • Type: Personal Equipment and Supplies
  • Rights: Permanent Collection
  • External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Medium: Gold metal watch with a round dial, and a gold metal square case, with a crown engraved on the right side. The face of the dial is offwhite and the time markings and hands are gold colored. At the bottom of the dial is a separate dial denoting seconds. A brown leather tapered band is attached by metal loops on the top and bottom of the dial case. The band was added after the war.

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