Brown plastic lice comb used by a Romanian Jewish woman concentration camp inmate
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
Creator(s)
- Borbala Herskovits (Subject)
Biographical History
Borbala (Babi) Nussbacher was born on April 15, 1915, to Herman and Aranka Wind Nussbacher in Bobota, Transylvania, which became part of Romania in 1918. Herman was born in 1889 and was a shop keeper. Babi's sister Margaret (Gicu), was born in 1918 or 1919, and her brother, Alexander, in 1920. Aranka died in 1920. Herman married Elizabet Stark, who was born in 1895 in Romania. The family lived in Cehu Silvaniei. Babi married Josef Polak. In 1937, the fascist Romanian government enacted anti-Jewish laws similar to those in Germany. In August 1940, the German and Italian foreign ministers pressured Romanian diplomats into giving northern Romania, including Cehu Silvaniei, to Hungary. The Hungarians began conscripting Romanian Jews to work in labor battalions for the Hungarian Army. Josef was conscripted into the Hungarian labor service and sent to the Ukraine. Hungary joined Germany in the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. After the German advance was halted in 1943, Hungary sought a truce with the Western Allies. In March 1944, Germany invaded Hungary. Jews outside of major cities were concentrated in regional centers. Babi was relocated to the Szilagy Somlyo ghetto (Simleu Silvaniei, Romania). In May, Hungarian authorities, in coordination with the Germans Security Police, began the systematic deportation of all the Jews in Hungary to concentration camps. Babi, Herman, and Elizabet were deported to Auschwitz in May 1944. Herman and Elizabet were killed. Babi was selected for labor service and transferred to several more salve labor/concentration camps, including Riga, Stutthof, and Guttau-Neumark. She saw American planes bombing the area and wished a bomb would fall into the camp to end their suffering. Babi was liberated in May 1945. Babi returned to Romania. Her siblings Margaret and Alexander had survived, but her husband Josef perished in Ukraine. Babi met Duzsi Herskovits and they married in 1947. They settled in Satu Mare and had a daughter in 1950. The family immigrated to Israel in 1962. Margaret and Alexander also immigrated to Israel. Duzsi, age 78, died on January 4, 1994. Babi, age 78, died in 1994.
Archival History
The comb was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Miriam Shelef, the daughter of Borbala (Babi) Nussbacher.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Miriam Shelef
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Brown plastic lice comb used by Borbala (Babi) Nussbacher while imprisoned at Auschwitz, Riga, Stutthof, Guttau and Neumark concentration camps from May 1944-May 1945. Babi, her husband Josef Polak, her parents, and siblings lived in Cehu Silvaniei, in Transylvania, an area of Romania absorbed in August 1940 by Hungary. Josef was put into a forced labor battalion for the Hungarian Army and sent to Ukraine, where he later perished. In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary. Babi and her family were forced into the Szilagysomlyo ghetto in 1944 and deported to Auschwitz in May 1944. Babi’s father and stepmother were killed. Babi was selected for labor and sent to several more camps, including Riga, Stutthof, Guttau, and Neumark. She was liberated in May 1945. She returned to Romania and found that her siblings had survived. She met Denes-Deszo (Duzsi) Herskovits, a survivor from Seini, Romania. They married in 1947 and settled in Romania.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Rectangular mottled brown and light brown plastic lice comb, made to resemble wood. One side has about 60 fine, close-set teeth; several are broken, especially in the middle. The other side has 13 teeth, thicker and more widely spaced. The comb has straight short edges that angle inward on the side with wider teeth.
Subjects
- Women concentration camp inmates--Poland--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Hungary--Personal narratives, Romanian.
- Concentration camp inmates--Poland--Biography.
- Jews--Persecution--Romania--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary--Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Slave labor--Poland--Biography.
Genre
- Personal Equipment and Supplies
- Object