Metal dish inscribed for a matron of an SS Lebensborn
Archival History
The dish was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2001.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
Commemorative dish inscribed for presentation to Erika Wittmann, the head of an SS Lebensborn called Sunny Meadows, in April 1943. 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 illegitimate children and their mothers.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Decorative metal dish made from copper-alloy. THe figure of a Reichsadler, an eagle bearing a swastika in its talons, is attached to a branch upon the center. A German inscription is engraved on the dish surface below the eagle.
front, engraved : Der Leiterin des Lebensborn Heimes "Sonnenwiese" / Erika Wittmann / zu Ihrem Jubiläum / V n den Mitarbeiten und Bewohtern des Heim / Dr. N. Sauer. H. Solling. W. Jandzincky. F. Ballach. P. Kemper. B. Skomlock(?) / R. Bauer. M. Peterschon. G. Stulz. A. von Reitzensie. F. (?) / April 1943 [The head of the Lebensborn home "Sunny Meadow" / Erika Wittmann / on your anniversary / from the staff and residents of the home]
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
- Household Utensils