Object numberM2018/026
DescriptionTeetotum (spinning top) used for game of ‘Put and Take’. It was owned by Holocaust survivor Gerda Miriam Cohen (nee Grünpeter) as a child. Unlike a traditional Jewish dreidel, this example has six sides, with letters and numerical identifiers instead of Hebrew inscriptions. Presumably, the letters are derived from Polish words for put, take and all, with the corresponding amount.
Gerda Miriam Cohen (nee Grünpeter) was born in 1933 in Katowice, Poland. In 1939, she and her parents (Emma Grünpeter, nee Kopiec) were relocated to Sosnowiec ghetto and then later to Bedzin ghetto. During this time Gerda’s father did not return from his work duty; he was taken to Auschwitz and murdered. During the liquidation of the ghetto in 1943, Emma approached a German soldier and pleaded with him to allow her to escape with her daughter. They fled to the home of Wanda Hornik whose Jewish lover had been executed in the ghetto for attempting to build a hideout. Wanda hid Emma and Gerda until the end of the war. They never left the flat and survived on Wanda’s earnings as a sales assistant. Noting the child’s loneliness, Wanda bought Gerda a turtle to care for. Post-war, Emma and Gerda returned to Katowice and immigrated to Australia in 1964. They kept in touch with Wanda until her death in 1978; she was recognised as Righteous Among the Nations in 2010.
Gerda Miriam Cohen (nee Grünpeter) was born in 1933 in Katowice, Poland. In 1939, she and her parents (Emma Grünpeter, nee Kopiec) were relocated to Sosnowiec ghetto and then later to Bedzin ghetto. During this time Gerda’s father did not return from his work duty; he was taken to Auschwitz and murdered. During the liquidation of the ghetto in 1943, Emma approached a German soldier and pleaded with him to allow her to escape with her daughter. They fled to the home of Wanda Hornik whose Jewish lover had been executed in the ghetto for attempting to build a hideout. Wanda hid Emma and Gerda until the end of the war. They never left the flat and survived on Wanda’s earnings as a sales assistant. Noting the child’s loneliness, Wanda bought Gerda a turtle to care for. Post-war, Emma and Gerda returned to Katowice and immigrated to Australia in 1964. They kept in touch with Wanda until her death in 1978; she was recognised as Righteous Among the Nations in 2010.
Production date 1930 - 1945
Subjecthiding, children, toys, Righteous Among the Nations, ghettos
Object nametoys
Dimensions
- width: 9.00 mm
height: 18.00 mm
height: 42.00 mm
Language
- German
Polish
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Gerda Miriam Cohen