Concentration camp striped uniform coat with yellow triangle worn by a Polish Jewish female inmate 2004.411.1 front
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Striped concentration camp coat issued to 17 year old Esther Kessler, or her mother, Masha, when they were imprisoned in Kaiserwald concentration camp. It was worn from September 1943-January 1945 through several camps. It has a handmade prisoner id with a small yellow triangle patch. After German occupied Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania, in June 1941, Esther and Masha were forced into a Jewish ghetto. They were transferred to Kaiserwald in Riga, Latvia, in September 1943 when the ghetto was liquidated. In the summer of 1944, they were sent to Thorn concentration camp in Germany, and worked as slave laborers repairing copper cables in an underground facility. They were then sent to Bromberg labor camp in Germany (Bydgoszcz, Poland). On January 24, 1945, Bromberg was evacuated. The prisoners began a forced march to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, but were liberated in January 1945 in Bromberg by Soviet troops.
Striped concentration camp coat issued to 17 year old Esther Kessler, or her mother, Masha, when they were imprisoned in Kaiserwald concentration camp. It was worn from September 1943-January 1945 through several camps. It has a handmade prisoner id with a small yellow triangle patch. After German occupied Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania, in June 1941, Esther and Masha were forced into a Jewish ghetto. They were transferred to Kaiserwald in Riga, Latvia, in September 1943 when the ghetto was liquidated. In the summer of 1944, they were sent to Thorn concentration camp in Germany, and worked as slave laborers repairing copper cables in an underground facility. They were then sent to Bromberg labor camp in Germany (Bydgoszcz, Poland). On January 24, 1945, Bromberg was evacuated. The prisoners began a forced march to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, but were liberated in January 1945 in Bromberg by Soviet troops.
- Title: Concentration camp striped uniform coat with yellow triangle worn by a Polish Jewish female inmate 2004.411.1 front
- Provenance: The dress was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by William Begell, the husband of Esther Kessler Begell., The dress was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by William Begell, the husband of Esther Kessler Begell.
- Subject Keywords: Concentration camp inmates--Poland--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Personal narratives. Slave labor--Poland--Biography. Women concentration camp inmates--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Personal narratives, Jewish., Concentration camp inmates--Poland--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Personal narratives. Slave labor--Poland--Biography. Women concentration camp inmates--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Type: Clothing and Dress, Clothing and Dress
- Rights: Permanent Collection, Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: Heavy cotton, dark blue and gray, vertically striped, ¾ length, long sleeved coat. It has a pointed collar with a black metal hook and eye closure. The front opening has 5 black plastic buttons and 5 corresponding, finished button holes. Sewn on the left breast is a rectangular, offwhite, cloth strip with a hand drawn outline in faded black ink of a 6 pointed star and a 5 digit number. The strip overlaps the top of an inverted yellow cloth triangle patch below. There are large flap pockets on the left and right front at waist level. The back sleeve is pieced from darker blue and gray cloth. Satinlike gray cloth lines the upper body, sleeves, and pocket flaps, and trims the pocket opening. A black cloth coat loop is sewn to the neck interior. The coat has a deep finished hem and the back has a central seam ending in an 11 inch vent. The seams on the back are frayed., Heavy cotton, dark blue and gray, vertically striped, ¾ length, long sleeved coat. It has a pointed collar with a black metal hook and eye closure. The front opening has 5 black plastic buttons and 5 corresponding, finished button holes. Sewn on the left breast is a rectangular, offwhite, cloth strip with a hand drawn outline in faded black ink of a 6 pointed star and a 5 digit number. The strip overlaps the top of an inverted yellow cloth triangle patch below. There are large flap pockets on the left and right front at waist level. The back sleeve is pieced from darker blue and gray cloth. Satinlike gray cloth lines the upper body, sleeves, and pocket flaps, and trims the pocket opening. A black cloth coat loop is sewn to the neck interior. The coat has a deep finished hem and the back has a central seam ending in an 11 inch vent. The seams on the back are frayed.
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