Chaim and Rita Wind collection

Chaim Wind (1910-1992) was born on 8 August 1910 to Yaakov (1869-1942) and Sabine (née Feldschreiber, 1887-1942) Wind in Gorlice, Poland. In 1911 Chaim moved to Berlin with his parents and older brother Edward (1909-2005). Chaim's youngers brothers and sisters, Willie (1913-1995), Julius (1915-1996), Margot (1918-2018), and Rosa (1920-2009), were born in Germany. The Wind's maintained a religious household and Chaim grew up attending both secular and Jewish schools. Throughout the 1930s the Winds experienced growing antisemitism in Germany. In fall 1938, Chaim and his brothers went in to hiding to avoid arrest during roundups of Polish Jews, as a consequence they were not taken into custody during Kristallnacht. Yaakov Wind, however, was arrested and detained for 8 days. Soon thereafter Eduard and Julius departed Germany for the United States while Willie and Rosa fled to Palestine. Chaim remained in Germany until August 1939 when he was finally able to depart for Shanghai. Once in Shanghai Chaim became active in the local Jewish community and sports clubs.Throughout this time Chaim remained in contact with his loved ones who had been forced to leave Germany and return to Poland. By 1940 Yaakov, Sabine, and Margot were living in the Tarnow ghetto. Chaim and his siblings continued to receive their letters until 1942. On March 29 of that year Chaim married Rita Blumenfeld. Chaim and Rita remained in Shanghai until 1948 when they immigrated to Israel. In 1953 the couple joined Chaim's brothers Eduard and Julius in the United States. The Winds were soon reunited with Chaim's brother Willie and his sister Margot who also immigrated to the United States with their families. Although the Wind siblings survived the Holocaust their parents perished in the course of deportations from the Tarnow ghetto in June 1942.

Rita Blumenfeld Wind (1920-2015) was born on 13 October 1920 to Josef (1890-1981) and Klara (née Nussbaum, 1895-1978) Blumenfeld in Berlin, Germany. Josef and Klara, originally from Tarnow and Lviv, had met and married in Berlin shortly after WWI. Rita lived with her parents and younger sister Bella (1924-2012) in the Berlin district of Prezlauer Berg until their emigration from Germany to Shanghai in August 1939. In Shanghai Rita married Chaim Wind who had also fled Berlin in 1939. The couple lived among Rita's family until 1947 when Bella, a nurse, left for the United States. The following year Rita, Chaim, Josef, and Klara departed Shanghai for Israel. The family would ultimately settle in the United States with extended relatives.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the family of Hy (Chaim) and Rita Wind

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017 by the Family of Hy (Chaim) and Rita Wind.