Swastika Pin Worn by Jewish Couple - New Artifact

This tiny silver pin is a new addition to our display in the Holocaust Center's artifact collection. Approximately 3/4" square, its history is compelling.

The donor writes:

"This little swastika pin was made by a Jewish couple in Berlin after Kristallnacht. It allowed them for a while to blend in and not wear the yellow stars that the law required. They filed down a base metal brooch until they got the shape - however they got the direction of the bent arms reversed, but no one noticed for a long time. They were able to live in the spare rooms of a German Christian couple and survive long enough that they could still have strength to come through the camps after the War ended."

The Holocaust Center has a collection of artifacts donated by survivors and friends.

Currently on display in our four showcases are a broad range of items, including a bowl and spoon used in a camp, armbands worn by a nurse in Terezin, bread cards from the Lodz ghetto, "Signal" a Nazi propaganda magazine written in French, and the typewriter used by a member of the Leica Freedom train. Our collection includes photographs, letters, documents, passports, musical instruments, flags, armbands, cloth yellow stars, books, albums and many other items.

We gratefully accept artifacts to our growing collection. We especially value and record the stories told to us by the donors. Please contact Dee Simon, the Holocaust Center's Co-Executive Director at delilas@wsherc.org if you have any items that you think would be a good addition to our collection. On view to visitors and used by the Speakers Bureau, these items are used in educational presentations.