World War I Iron Cross medal that belonged to a Jewish veteran and concentration camp inmate
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Medal awarded to Salli Joseph for his service in the German Army during World War I, 1914-1918. Salli and his family lived in Berlin, Germany, and he began searching for ways to get his family out of the country after the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in 1933. They tried to get visas for the United States, since his wife's sister had lived there for some time. However, Salli and his wife, Martha, were placed on the very restrictive Polish quota system by the US because they were born in West Prussia. In 1939, they sent their 19 year old son, Bernard, to England and in 1940, their 16 year old daughter, Margot, to Palestine. Salli and Martha were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp on March 6, 1943, where they were killed shortly after arrival.
- Title: World War I Iron Cross medal that belonged to a Jewish veteran and concentration camp inmate
- Provenance: The medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Margot Hamburger, the daughter of Salli Joseph.
- Subject Keywords: Concentration camp inmates--Poland--Concentration camps--Poland--Oświęcim. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Berlin--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Germany. World War, 1914-1918--Participation, Jewish. World War, 1914-1918--Germany.
- Type: Military Insignia
- Rights: Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: Black-painted metal medal in the shape of a cross pattee with a reeded silver colored border. The front has an embossed image of a crown and 3 oak leaves tied together. There are initials and a date in the top and bottom of the central vertical arm of the cross. The reverse has a reeded silver colored border, and an embossed image of a crown at the top, with a letter in the center and a date at the bottom on the vertical arm of the cross. A metal suspension ring is attached to the top by a metal loop.
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