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Artifacts Unpacked

Every Artifact Has a Story to Tell

Each artifact in our collection has a story to tell. The Artifacts Unpacked video series takes you behind the scenes to learn about the objects the Museum protects and how they keep alive the memory and experiences of victims and witnesses of the Holocaust.

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  • The Flag Dress

    Before immigrating to the United States, Holocaust survivor Margret Hantman wore an American flag costume for a performance in a displaced persons camp.

  • The Teenager’s Paintings

    While living in hiding in Nazi-occupied France, Simon Jeruchim turned to art to provide a respite from his loneliness.

  • The Uniform and the Jacket

    Otto Feuer’s prisoner clothing helps tell his story of being persecuted for being Jewish. The garments also speak to his resilience after liberation.

  • The Girl Scout Sash

    The Holocaust had taken a heavy toll on Ruth Hendel’s family and on her childhood. So when they arrived in the United States in 1944, nine-year-old Ruth embraced going to school and joining the Girl Scouts.

  • The Star Badge

    As a teenager, Fritz Gluckstein was forced to start wearing a yellow Star of David badge in Nazi Berlin. It was a measure designed to segregate and humiliate Jews.

  • The School Pictures

    When it was time to go back to school for second grade, Yoka Verdoner found out the Nazis excluded Jewish children from public schools in German-occupied Netherlands.

  • The Teddy Bear

    How did a boy's stuffed animal help the Butzke family escape Nazi persecution and start a new life in the United States?

  • The Crayon Case

    The parents of seven-year-old Leo Melamed fought for his education to continue, even when their future was uncertain.

  • The Puppet

    US Army Medic Eldon G. Nicholas found a way to bring joy to children in the Vittel internment camp in France.

  • The Home Movies

    After surviving the Holocaust, Louis de Groot retrieved film footage his father had taken of their family before they separated and went into hiding.