Object numberM2000/011:001
DescriptionFemale wrist watch, with leather strap, purchased by Zosia Spiro prior to and worn throughout WWII, including her escape through the sewers of the Warsaw ghetto. Handwritten note attached to the watch: "I wore this watch bought before the war, when it was a luxury I could ill afford. I wore it right through the war. Don't throw it out, it saw such a lot".
Zosia Spiro managed to make a harrowing escape from the Warsaw Ghetto through the sewer system. Hiding on the ‘Aryan’ side she used at various times five aliases. As a child, Zosia and her sister won scholarships to attend a Catholic school in Warsaw. Being able to recite all the religious pieces any good Catholic girl would know enhanced the charade. She carried a mirror and this watch through the sewers during her escape from the Ghetto.
Zosia Spiro managed to make a harrowing escape from the Warsaw Ghetto through the sewer system. Hiding on the ‘Aryan’ side she used at various times five aliases. As a child, Zosia and her sister won scholarships to attend a Catholic school in Warsaw. Being able to recite all the religious pieces any good Catholic girl would know enhanced the charade. She carried a mirror and this watch through the sewers during her escape from the Ghetto.
Production placePoland
Production periodpre-World War II
SubjectWarsaw ghetto, Holocaust, escape, resistance
Object namewatches
Dimensions
- circumference: 60.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Tolla Anderson