Pistol holster used by a Yugoslavian partisan
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 6.000 inches (15.24 cm) | Width: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) | Depth: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm)
Creator(s)
- Lavoslav Kadelburg (Previous owner)
Biographical History
Dr. Lavoslav Kadelburg (1910-1995) was born in Vinkovci, Austria-Hungary (now Croatia) to Tobias and Jolan Kadelburg. The family were Ashkenazi, descendants of Jews who had lived in Germany and France who were forced to migrate due to religious persecution. Lavoslav was named after his deceased grandfather, following an Ashkenazi custom. The family were secular, but knew Jewish tradition. Lavoslav grew up speaking Hungarian, German, and Serbo-Croation. As a teenager, Lavoslav was involved in Jewish communal life. He was president of Herut from 1925-1929, a member of the Radni odbor of the Federation of Jewish Youth Associations and he was a member of Hashomer Hatzair, a prewar Zionist youth organization. Lavoslav completed his secondary schooling in Vinkovci, and then studied law at Zagreb University, graduating in 1935. After graduation, Lavoslav began practicing law. On April 6, 1941, Germany and Italy invaded Yugoslavia with the support of Hungary and Bulgaria. Before the invasion, Lavoslav was mobilized as a reserve officer in the Royal Yugoslav Army. He fought with the army against the invaders, but the combined forces overcame the defenders and Yugoslavia capitulated on April 17. The country was partitioned, and central Yugoslavia was formed into the independent State of Croatia, which was governed by the Ustaše and administered by the Germans. The regime enacted anti-Jewish laws, confiscated property and money, forced males to work hard labor and then began deporting Jews to camps. After the dissolution of the army, Lavoslav was captured by the Germans as a prisoner of war (POW) and was taken to Germany as a prisoner. In Germany, Lavoslav was held in Oflag VI C, a prisoner of war camp in Osnabrück-Eversheide, which was housed in an existing Wehrmacht barracks complex. There, he became a member of the Antifascist Committee which combated the cruel treatment of the prisoners by the camp authorities. Later, Lavoslav was transferred to Barkenbrugge camp in Eastern Prussia, near the former Polish border. In late January, 1945, with the Soviet Army approaching, the prisoners were marched out of Barkenbrugge. During the evacuation, the prisoners staged a mass break out and Lavoslav was able to escape. Approximately 10 days later, the escaped prisoners were found by the Soviet soldiers. They then joined the Soviet ranks and helped combat the Germans. In March 1945, Lavoslav returned to Yugoslavia and joined the Narodnooslobodilački pokret (NOP, People's Liberation Movement). After the war, Lavoslav helped rehabilitate survivors of the Holocaust and served in a number of sociopolitical organizations and top level government positions. Through these roles he became one of the most influential and powerful figures in the Jewish community of Yugoslavia. He served in the Popular Front transition government in Vrsac, was president of the Autonomous Aid Committee from 1945-1952, vice-president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia from 1948-1964 and then president from 1964 to 1992. Lavoslav also held high positions in international Jewish organizations, including vice-president of the World Jewish Congress.
Archival History
The holster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia
Scope and Content
Leather holster acquired by Lavoslav Kadelburg, while fighting in the Soviet Army against Germany in 1945. Lavoslav disarmed a German officer, likely from the Estonian SS, and kept the accompanying pistol and holster. Lavoslav was a lawyer in Zagreb when he was mobilized as a reserve officer in the Royal Yugoslav Army, in order to help defend against the Axis invasion in April 1942. Yugoslavia was overwhelmed, the army was disbanded, and Lasoslav was captured by the Nazis and taken back to Germany as a prisoner of war. He was held in Oflag VI C, a prisoner of war camp in Osnabrück-Eversheide. There, he became a member of the Antifascist Committee which combated the cruel treatment of the prisoners by the camp authorities. Later, Lavoslav was transferred to Barkenbrugge camp in Eastern Prussia, near the former Polish border. In January 1945, Barkenbrugge was evacuated before the advancing Soviet Army. Lavoslav escaped with many other prisoners and helped the Soviets fight the Germans. In March 1945, Lavoslav returned to Yugoslavia and joined the Narodnooslobodilački pokret (NOP, People's Liberation Movement). After the war, Lavoslav helped rehabilitate survivors of the Holocaust and served in a number of sociopolitical organizations and top level government positions. Through these roles, he became one of the most influential and powerful figures in the Jewish community of Yugoslavia.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Dark brown, leather pistol holster with a buttoned top flap. The main body of the holster is made from one piece of leather that has been folded over on the right side and stitched with tan thread along the left edge. The right edge is long and straight and the top has a wide leather flap that folds down and snaps closed with a centered brown button. The back has a rectangular piece of leather stitched on to form a belt loop. The stitching on the bottom tip is coming undone.
People
- Kadelburg, Lavoslav.
Corporate Bodies
- Mauser-Werke AG
- Oflag VI C (Concentration camp)
- Waffen-SS
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Occupied territories.
- Holsters.
- Holocaust survivors--Yugoslavia--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Yugoslavia.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Jewish resistance.
- World War, 1939-1945--Jewish resistance.
- Yugoslavia.
Genre
- Leather goods.
- Object
- Weapons