Floral and lion patterned needlepoint table covering saved by a German Jewish refugee family
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 60.000 inches (152.4 cm) | Width: 59.130 inches (150.19 cm)
Creator(s)
- Edith Rosenthal (Subject)
Biographical History
Edith Simon (1923-2009) was born on February 26, 1923, in Leipzig, Germany, to William and Margaret (Grete) Maerker Simon. Grete’s parents were Louis and Hedwig Weil Maerker. Edith had two sisters, Lotte, born in 1925, and Gerda, born in 1921. Grete and Willy married in Bernburg and settled in Leipzig where Willy operated a prosperous real estate and mortgage business. His business did well even during the difficult economic conditions of the 1920s. But after Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 with the growing persecution of Jews and boycotts of their businesses, her father's business began to fail. The family left Germany for the United States in 1937 and settled in Philadelphia. She married Harry Rosenthal and they had two children. Many family members were deported to Theresienstadt and other concentration camps where they were killed.
Archival History
The table covering was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Mark, Ellen, and Erin Rosenthal, the son, the daughter-in-law, and granddaughter of Edith Simon Rosenthal.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ellen, Erin, and Mark Rosenthal
Scope and Content
Bed or table covering brought in a steamer trunk by 13 year old Edith Simon when she, her parents, Willy and Greta, and her sisters, Lotte and Gerda, emigrated from Leipzig, Germany, to the United States in 1937. The needlepoint covering was made in the early years of the 20th century by Hedwig Maerker, Edith's grandmother, who was killed in Theresienstadt concentration camp during the Holocaust.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Square, wool, needlepoint cloth with a green cloth backing. The needlepoint is done in light orange, dark orange, and gold yarn on a cream canvas backing with a brown stiched background. In the center is a circular medallion design with cross dividing the medallion into quadrants; the cross extends beyond the medallion to the edges of the cloth.. Each quadrant has a gold needelpoint lion inside a diamond design. The edge of the circle is orange with a floral design. Inside the cross is a repetitive floral design in orange, cream, gray, and yellow yarn. Each of the 4 sections beyond the circle have 2 gold, rampant lions. The corners of the tablecloth have an L-shaped design in orange, yellow, and brown yarn.
Subjects
- Jewish refugees--United States.
- Germany--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--United States.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.
Genre
- Object
- Furnishings and Furniture