Raincoat
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 41.000 inches (104.14 cm) | Width: 30.500 inches (77.47 cm)
Creator(s)
- Selma Wideroff (Subject)
Biographical History
Selma (Sally) Wideroff (1913‐2011) was born Selma Bendremer in New York City. She obtained degrees in child growth and development and joined the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in November 1945. She served first in the Bergen‐Belsen displaced persons (DP) camp as the liaison between representatives of the JDC, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and the DP camp's Central Jewish Committee. She also worked to establish educational, recreational and cultural programs. Later she supervised renovation of the Warburg Estate near Hamburg which became the Blankenese children’s center for children from Bergen‐Belsen without families. She served as the JDC's child welfare specialist at the center. In April 1946 she escorted a group of orphans to Marseilles on the first leg of their journey to Palestine as part of the first postwar Youth Aliyah transport. After she returned home in December 1946, she worked as a field representative for the JDC.
Archival History
The raincoat was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2001 by Selma Wideroff.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Selma Wideroff
Scope and Content
Selma Bendremer used the raincoat while working for the Joint Distribution Committee in Germany and France after World War II.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Overcoat (a): olive cotton fabric; knee-lenth; six plastic buttons at center with one plastic button at lapel near collar; fabric belt with plastic buckle at waist; side pockets; slit at back center. Lining (b): olive wool fabric with partial olive satin lining; knee-length; three plastic buttons and six button holes at center; three buttons near collar; sating piping edging; two front pockets near waist; slit at back center.
Genre
- Clothing and Dress
- Object