Belt created from leather scraps by a concentration camp prisoner
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 38.000 inches (96.52 cm) | Width: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm)
Creator(s)
- Ruth Klemens (Subject)
Biographical History
Ruth Klemens (1927-2011) was born in Berlin to Alfred Wiener (b. 1885) and Margarethe Wiener (nee Saulmann, 1895-1945). They moved to Amsterdam in 1934 with her grandmother, Amalia Wiener. Around 1938 Alfred moved to London, and he relocated to the United States before Pearl Harbor. Ruth was deported to Westerbork with her mother and sisters, Eva and Mirjam, in June 1943. They were transferred to Bergen-Belsen in January 1944. They left in January 1945 for Switzerland as part of a prisoner exchange based on Paraguayan passports her father had purchased for them. Her mother died upon arrival in Switzerland, and Ruth and her sisters were transferred to Marseilles, where they were put on a boat to the United States in February 1945.
Archival History
The belt was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by Ruth Wiener Klemens.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ruth Klemens
Scope and Content
The belt was created by Ruth Wiener from leather scraps found in her workplace in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The belt is made of interlocking loops of brown, red, and blue leather arranged in a pattern of alternating colors. There is no buckle or other fastening device.
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany.
Genre
- Object
- Dress Accessories