Teddy bear used in an SS Lebensborn home
Archival History
The teddy bear was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2001.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
Teddy bear used in an SS Lebensborn home. The SS (Schutzstaffel; Protection Squadrons), commanded by Heinrich Himmler from 1929, saw itself as an elite corps of the Nazi Party based on race-nationalist visions of racial purity. In 1936, the SS established the Lebensborn (Fount of Life) program that decreed that every SS man should father four children, in or out of wedlock. Lebensborn homes were created to house and care for the illegimate children and their mothers.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Teddy bear with light brown artificial cloth fur, movable arms and legs, and glass eyes. Facial details are sewn with dark brown thread and there are knitted coverings on the ends of the arms. An oval amber pin with a metal back and and etched name is attached to the right chest. German words are printed on the base of the feet.
on pin, etched : M. Cordes
Corporate Bodies
- Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Schutzstaffel
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Children.
- Women--Germany--History--20th century.
- Children--Germany--History--20th century.
- Eugenics--Germany--History--20th century.
Genre
- Object
- Toys