Concentration camp uniform jacket with a purple triangle worn by a Jehovah’s Witness inmate
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 25.750 inches (65.405 cm) | Width: 16.875 inches (42.863 cm)
Creator(s)
- Matthaeus Pibal (Subject)
Biographical History
Matthaeus Pibal was born on September 21, 1911, in Tibitsch in the parish of St. Martin am Techelsberg, Austria, to Josef and Barbara Pibal. He lived in Klagenfurt and was a woodworker. In 1938, Matthaeus became a Jehovah’s Witness. He was part of the Techelsburger group and a friend of Johann Stossier. On March 12, 1938, Germany annexed Austria. The Nazi regime actively persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose religious convictions led them to refuse to swear loyalty to a worldly government or serve in the armed forces. The Nazi regime regarded this refusal to pledge loyalty to the state, and their missionary activity, as subversive political acts. On April 8, 1940, Matthaeus was arrested, with Stossier, by the Gestapo for speaking in public about the Bible. He refused to recant or violate his beliefs and, on August 10, was sent to Dachau concentration camp in Germany. He was assigned prisoner number 14307. In late summer 1940, Matthaeus was transferred to Sudelfeld SS-Berghaus and Hotel Alpenrose labor camp, a subcamp of Dachau near Bayrischzell. Jehovah’s Witness prisoners worked in construction and upkeep at the Berghaus, a former restaurant that was turned into an SS rest and convalescent home. The nearby Hotel Alpenrose was turned into a hospital. Jehovah’s Witnesses were a preferred group of inmates for labor camps as they generally were obedient workers who did not attempt to escape. On May 6, 1945, Matthaeus was liberated in Sudelfeld by American forces. Germany surrendered the next day. Matthaeus returned to Austria and settled in Portschach am Worthersee.
Archival History
The jacket was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by Matthaeus Pibal.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Matthaeus Pibal
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Concentration camp uniform jacket with a purple triangle worn by Matthaeus Pibal, a Jehovah’s Witness who was imprisoned in Dachau and Sudelfeld SS Berghaus concentration camps from 1940 to 1945. The purple inverted triangle badge identified him as a Jehovah’s Witness; the white patch above it has his prisoner number 14307. The Nazi regime actively persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their beliefs did not permit them to put any authority, such as the state, before God, or serve in the military, and the Nazis saw this as subversive. Matthaeus lived in Austria which was annexed by Nazi Germany in March 1938. On April 8, 1940, Matthaeus was arrested by the Gestapo for speaking in public about the Bible. On August 10, he was sent to Dachau concentration camp in Germany. In late summer 1940, Matthaeus was transferred to Sudelfeld, where he worked in the Berghaus, an SS convalescent home. On May 6, 1945, Matthaeus was liberated in Sudelfeld by American forces.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Blue and gray vertically striped hip length cloth jacket with long sleeves and a pointed collar with a hook and eye closure. The front opening has plackets on both sides with 1 black and 4 identical gray ceramic buttons, probably replacements, on the right and 5 finished, frayed buttonholes on the left. On the interior neck band is a small gray cloth hanging loop. The interior armhole seams have shiny gray cloth binding. A large, hidden, rectangular, brown woven cloth pocket, 8.5 x 6.5, is hand sewn on the left bottom front; the right side is torn. The hems and seams are machine finished. Two patches are neatly hand sewn on the front left breast: a rectangular white patch with a stamped prisoner number 14307 above an inverted purple triangle. The collar appears to be reattached and has a stitched triangle pattern on the bottom layer.
front, white patch, stamped, black ink : 14307
Subjects
- Forced labor--Germany--Biography.
- Jehovah's Witnesses--Austria--Biography.
- Concentration camp inmates--Austria--Biography.
- Jehovah's Witnesses--Nazi persecution--Austria--Biography.
- Political prisoners--Germany--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Austrian.
Genre
- Object
- Clothing and Dress