Isaac Bitton collection photographs of arrivals of Jewish refugees in Lisbon, Portugal, and their departures to various destinations

Identifier
irn503027
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • RG-19.011.03
Dates
1 Jan 1941 - 31 Dec 1943
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
  • Portuguese
  • Hebrew
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

folder

1

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Isaac Bitton was born on March 31, 1926 to Isaac and Simy (Shocrun) in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1943 or 1944, he and his brother, Joseph, immigrated to Palestine where he joined the ranks of the Palestine Police Railroad Division followed by the Jewish Brigade of the British Army where he served in Belgium. At the end of the war, Bitton returned to Palestine where he worked as an undercover agent for the Haganah before joining the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) from 1947 to 1951 as a Sergeant Major. He rejoined the army in 1956 during the Suez Crisis. In 1959, he immigrated to the United States, with his wife, Miriam, and three children, Tamar, Daniel, and Michael, eventually settling down in Woodstock, Illinois. Here he became a successful executive and business community leader. He died on July 14, 2006. As a young man, Isaac worked in the Lisbon “soup kitchen” to feed the Jewish refugees prior to WWII. While there, he met the disgraced Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes. Mendes had been dismissed from his post in Bordeaux, France for disobeying orders by granting visas to thousands of Jews fleeing Nazi oppression. Bitton was active in getting "Righteous Among the Nations" recognition for Mendes. [from Finding Aid of Isaac Bitton Papers at the American Sephardi Federation at the Center for Jewish History]

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

The materials were collected by Isaac Bitton during the years since the Holocaust. They were initially donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collections department, and later transferred to the archives.

Scope and Content

Contains twelve gelatin silver copyprints of Jewish refugees upon arrival in Lisbon, Portugal, and of Jewish refugees at the time of their departure from Lisbon to various destinations.

System of Arrangement

Arrangement is thematic

People

Corporate Bodies

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.