Monogrammed gray velvet tefillin bag carried by a young German Jewish Kindertransport refugee
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 10.000 inches (25.4 cm) | Width: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm)
Archival History
The tefillin bag was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015 by Kurt Goldsmith.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Kurt R. Goldsmith in memory of his father, Kenneth Kurt Rosenbaum Goldsmith, and his grandparents, Frieda and Siegfried Rosenbaum
Scope and Content
Gray velvet tefillin pouch used by thirteen year old Kurt Rosenbaum to carry his tefillin when he was sent by his parents on a Kindertransport to Belgium in March 1939. Tefillin are small boxes containing prayers attached to leather straps and worn on the arm and the head by Orthodox Jewish males during morning prayers. Kurt eventually traveled to Portland, OR and was subsequently adopted by the Goldsmith family. In September 1945, he was drafted into the US Army and sent to Okinawa, Japan.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Dark gray velvet drawstring bag with the initials KR embroidered on one side and the Hebrew letters Dalet and Yod on the other side.
front, embroidered : KR back, embroidered : Hebrew letters Dalet and Yod
Genre
- Object
- Jewish Art and Symbolism