Identification tag with name and birthdate issued to a Jewish refugee child

Marc Hoffmann (b.1939) was born in Paris, France, to Polish parents Charles (1904-?) and Helene (nee Mateles, 1908-?) Hoffmann. Charles, a cutter, moved to France in 1924, but returned to Poland and married Helene, a bank official, in 1933. After they married, Charles and Helene returned to France, eventually settling in Paris. Because his parents were Polish, Charles was briefly conscripted into the Polish army. Helene gave birth to their son, Marc, in March 1939. In the summer of 1942, under the fear of arrest and deportation, the family submitted a declaration for admission to Switzerland. Although Switzerland had a tradition of wartime neutrality and helping refugees, the threat of a German invasion led them to limit the number of foreigners it allowed into the country, put refugees in camps, and prohibited those coming from France. The Hoffmann family did not receive approval, and on October 27, 1942, illegally crossed the border into Switzerland from Annemasse. They were placed together in Camp Les Charmilles in Geneva until November 11, when Marc was placed at the Wartheim children’s home. He stayed there until July 19, 1943, when he was placed in the care of Margaret Locher, who ran a home near Zurich named “Rebhaus” for Jewish children whose parents were in internment or refugee camps. Charles and Helene were split up as well. Charles was sent to Raron, where he worked the land as a laborer until January 11, 1943. He was then moved around to multiple camps within Switzerland, including Büren, Montana, Raron, Siders, and Sonnenberg. By early January, 1945, Charles was contacting the authorities in Bern in preparation of returning to France, but on February 25, 1945, he was arrested for fleeing Sonnenberg and attempting to cross the border illegally. However, he made a final, successful attempt on May 2, 1945. Helene was transferred from Les Charmilles to the Les Avants refugee camp in Montreux until the end of August 1943. Then, she was transferred to a women's home in Sonnenberg, where they did mending. From December 1944 to May 1945, Helene completed an ORT (Obchestvo Remeslenogo Truda, Association for the Promotion of Skilled Trades) course in sewing and cutting, after which, she returned to Sonnenberg. From October 15, 1945 to January 15, 1946, she moved to Lucerne to complete an internship as a seamstress for a private employer. Although she was scheduled to complete another internship, Helene returned to France on March 21, 1946. Marc was not able to go with her for health reasons, and stayed in Margaret Locher’s home. He was permitted to return to France that September.

Margaret Locher lived in Zurich, Switzerland. In March 1943, she left her home in Zurich and moved temporarily to the city of Lugano, near the Italian border. On April 20, she began fostering the children of Tonia Lechtmann, a friend she had met while visiting a children’s home in Limoges, France. In June, Margaret was able to secure Tonia’s release from Les Avants camp to join the children. On July 1, she opened a home named “Rebhaus” in Küsnacht, near Zurich, for Jewish children whose parents were in internment or refugee camps. After a couple of weeks, Tonia and her children joined her at the Rebhaus. In addition to the Lechtmann children, Margaret adopted an orphan from France, and fostered three other children. In April 1944, Margaret and Tonia were caring for seven children. Tonia left to take a course in Zurich, and in June, Margaret was able to hire Irene Maringer, the mother of another of her charges. Irene worked for Margaret for two months, and her son, Georges, stayed in the home until November 1945. Following the end of the war, the remaining children returned to the parents after they had reestablished themselves. Tonia’s children stayed with Margaret until the winter of 1947.

The name tag was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2008 by Vera Lechtman.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Vera Lechtman