After losing both his parents in concentration camps, Michael Kraus began writing a series of diaries to document his and his parents’ experiences. Archivist Rebecca Erbelding shares these unique records, beautifully illustrated and made in the direct wake of the Holocaust.
Americans Helen and Ross Baker were living in Vienna when Germany annexed Austria in March 1938. With pen and camera in hand, they documented what they saw in letters, a diary, and film. Film researcher Leslie Swift explains the significance of these items to the Museum’s collections.
Louise Lawrence-Israëls spent her early years in hiding in Amsterdam, where her parents tried to give her and her brother a normal upbringing despite the circumstances. The doll’s chair she received for her second birthday became a symbol of her family’s survival.
Robert M. W. Kempner served as assistant chief counsel during the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and as a prosecutor at the subsequent Nuremberg proceeding known as the “Ministries Case.” This episode recounts how the Museum acquired Kempner’s vast collection of Holocaust-related documents and artifacts and highlights some of the historically significant content.
In the course of her work, curator Susan Snyder realized the Museum’s collection included several diaries created by female slave laborers at Sömmerda, a little-known subcamp of Buchenwald.
Selma Wijnberg and Chaim Engel met and fell in love in the Sobibor killing center. After the young couple made a daring escape during the camp uprising and fled into hiding, Selma began a diary to record their experiences.
A refugee from Nazi Germany who served in the US Army during World War II, Joseph Eaton donated photos, letters, and papers that reveal his official—and unofficial—efforts to combat Nazism and aid its victims.
When Germany occupied the Netherlands, a young Elise Kann went into hiding with Molly Van Heel, a non-Jewish friend of her mother’s, and Molly’s husband, Jerry. It wasn’t until decades later that Elise learned the full story behind the Van Heels’ efforts to rescue countless Jews.
Charlotte Delbo was arrested in March 1942 for her involvement in the French Resistance and spent nearly 11 months in a series of French detention camps before being sent to Auschwitz and then Ravensbrück. She survived and later wrote about her experiences.
On December 17, 2013, Immigration and Customs Enforcement formally handed over to the Museum the diary of Alfred Rosenberg, an early member and intellectual leader of the Nazi Party. This episode discusses the diary and its significance.