None shall Starve or Freeze

Trude Baumann was a seamstress by profession when she was transported to Theresienstadt in November 1942. Two years later she was deported to Auschwitz and then to Oederan, a slave labour camp for women. Like many survivors, Trude did not speak about her experiences and her son could give little information on this collection of miniature felt charms when he donated them to the Museum in 1999.

Research revealed that inmates at Oederan worked in a munitions factory that was once a textile mill. It is possible that scraps of fabric found in the factory were used for making charms, a common decorative element attached to shirts, blouses and cardigans.

Another possibility is that inmates were forced to make the mementos handed out at street collections for the Winterhilfswerk (WHW) - a charity program steered by the Nazis to support poorer Germans under the slogan ‘none shall starve or freeze’. Donors received little decorations in appreciation of their contribution, and a new token could be collected each week to prove support for the cause. Although giving was voluntary, any who did not donate were exposed in local newspapers.