Torah pointer recovered postwar from the site of the destroyed synagogue in Grodno
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 10.620 inches (26.975 cm) | Width: 1.620 inches (4.115 cm)
Archival History
The yad was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991 by the Grodno Survivors Association.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Grodno Survivors Association
Scope and Content
Found by Solomon Zukowski, post WWII, Grodno, Poland. Given to Dr. Felix Zandman who brought them to Israel and gave them to the Grodno Survivors Association. Saved from the synagogue of Grodno, Poland (now Hrodna, Belarus). The Torah pointer and breast plate are the last surviving artifacts from the Synagogues of Grodno. These objects were found by Solomon Zukowski, a Jewish resident of Grodno. He was hidden in the nearby village of Lososna by a Christian family after the Nazis invaded. After the war he returned to Grodno and found these objects in the debris of the synagogue. They were the only objects salvaged as everything else was robbed or destroyed. The pointer and breast plate were brought to Israel by Dr. F. Zandman (a survivor of Grodno) who visited Grodno as a tourist. He gave them to the Grodno Survivor's Association, which entrusted them to Dr. Gila Flam who brought them to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Decorative cylindrical silver pointer with engraved Hebrew text.
engraved : Hebrew text [Talmud Torah. Belongs to the community]
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Belarus-Hrodna.
- Synagogues--Destruction and pillage--Belarus--Hrodna.
Genre
- Object
- Jewish Art and Symbolism