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Visiting Info
Opening Hours:

Sunday to Thursday: ‬09:00-17:00

Fridays and Holiday eves: ‬09:00-14:00

Yad Vashem is closed on Saturdays and all Jewish Holidays.

Entrance to the Holocaust History Museum is not permitted for children under the age of 10. Babies in strollers or carriers will not be permitted to enter.

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Artifacts as a Reflection of Family Stories in the Holocaust

Educational Unit  

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Educational Unit

Introduction  

Introduction

Opening Discussion - Poem  

Opening Discussion - Poem

Opening Discussion - Testimony  

Opening Discussion - Testimony

Education and Heritage: Bible  

Education and Heritage: Bible

[Download Handout for students]

At the end of the war, Ingrid and her grandmother Regina returned home after hiding with a Catholic family in Antwerp, Belgium for 18 months under false identities. They learned that the Gestapo had emptied their home of furniture and valuables, but to their surprise a large wooden box, a masterpiece adorned with a Star of David and a menorah, remained in the house. Inside were 99 drawings, drawn over the course of a year from 1941-1942 by Carol Deutsch, Ingrid's father. For Ingrid's second birthday, already living under German occupation and under the threat of anti-Jewish measurements, Deutsch used his brush to make paintings for her.

The drawings, in spectacular gouache and watercolors colors, depict biblical scenes and characters. The artwork is influenced by subjects, symbols and motifs from Jewish sources, and show his expertise in and connection to his Jewish heritage. The choice to leave his daughter the biblical drawings is a form of resistance against all the Nazis sought to destroy, and is also an expression of love for Ingrid and his wish to connect her to her Jewish heritage.

Deutsch was living in hiding with his wife Fela and under an assumed identity when they were caught and sent to Auschwitz, where Fela was murdered. Carol was sent first to Sachsenhausen and from there on a death march to Buchenwald where he died.

Education and Heritage: Dina Dasberg  

Education and Heritage: Dina Dasberg

[Download Handout for students]
 

Dina Dasberg was seven-and-a-half years old when she arrived at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp with her family from Holland. Men and women were separated, and Dina was imprisoned along with her mother and grandmother.

The long days in the camp were difficult. There was a lack of food and Dina, like the other prisoners, was forced to stand long hours for roll call, even in the cold and snow. During her time at the camp she fell ill with typhus, and some of her family died from weakness and disease.

At the age of three, it had been discovered that Dina could not hear. She had no friends in the camp, and spent most of her time with her mother. Dina understood only a little of what was occurring the camp because she could only lipread. On Sabbaths, her mother attempted to give the day a unique character by creating a special meal, albeit with few and meager resources. These special moments were preserved in Dina’s memory as a spot of light within the daily difficulties. Occasionally, her father would manage to visit the section of the camp where Dina and her mother were held. It was not only the desire to see her father than lent these meetings their unique quality, but also the fact that he would study with her. Because she could not hear, her father used a receipt book, on which he wrote and drew biblical stories in order to teach her. Dina describes how she eagerly looked forward to these meetings.

When relating to artifacts parents created for their children, it’s worth noting not only the artifact itself and its design but also the content and messages embodied by it, the medium chosen for transmitting the message, and also the significance of being creative as a reflection of hope and faith.

“I had a friend, I had a brother” – Artifacts as friends and family: Colette  

“I had a friend, I had a brother” – Artifacts as friends and family: Colette

“I had a friend, I had a brother” – Artifacts as friends and family: Bear  

“I had a friend, I had a brother” – Artifacts as friends and family: Bear

“Between the Families” – Artifacts as Representations of Identity : Pendant  

“Between the Families” – Artifacts as Representations of Identity : Pendant

“Between the Families” – Artifacts as Representations of Identity : Locket  

“Between the Families” – Artifacts as Representations of Identity : Locket

Hope and Connection: Anny and Pawel  

Hope and Connection: Anny and Pawel

Hope and Connection: Paula Fried  

Hope and Connection: Paula Fried

Hope and Connection: shirt  

Hope and Connection: shirt

Artifacts as Memory and Testimony: 1. Glasses  

Artifacts as Memory and Testimony: 1. Glasses

Artifacts as Memory and Testimony: 2. The shoe of Hinda Cohen  

Artifacts as Memory and Testimony: 2. The shoe of Hinda Cohen

Artifacts as Memory and Testimony: 3. Tefillin  

Artifacts as Memory and Testimony: 3. Tefillin

Summary  

Summary
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