Torah breastplate recovered postwar from the site of the destroyed synagogue in Grodno

Identifier
irn4408
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1991.140.2
Dates
1 Jan 1870 - 31 Dec 1880
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 8.500 inches (21.59 cm) | Width: 6.890 inches (17.501 cm) | Depth: 0.240 inches (0.61 cm)

Archival History

The Torah breastplate 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

Inscribed on the front are the ten commandments and the crown of the Torah.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.