Object numberM1995/061:004
DescriptionSpoon and fork, attached to each other by a rivet, made of scrap metal from the Heinkel Works aircraft factory where Stephen Gonda was assigned to as a forced labourer of Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
Stephen Gonda was born in 1901 in Kecskemet, Hungary. He was incarcerated in Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen concentration camps. While in Sachsenhausen he was assigned to work as a forced labourer in the Heinkel Works aircraft factory, Oranienburg, building Messerschmidt aircraft. He used pieces of scrap aluminium from the factory to make useful items such as a comb and a spoon-fork.
The collection includes the cloth badge with Stephen’s registration number - UN120196, still attached to a piece of striped material from his concentration camp uniform worn in Sachsenhausen. The UN stands for ‘Ungar’ (Hungarian), and the red triangle indicated that he was a political prisoner.
Donated by Johnny Gonda (son) who at 17-years-old was in a labour camp in Hungary, escaped and went into hiding. Stephen was liberated by the Russians, and he and Johnny met up again in Budapest. In 1947 they immigrated to New Zealand.
Stephen Gonda was born in 1901 in Kecskemet, Hungary. He was incarcerated in Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen concentration camps. While in Sachsenhausen he was assigned to work as a forced labourer in the Heinkel Works aircraft factory, Oranienburg, building Messerschmidt aircraft. He used pieces of scrap aluminium from the factory to make useful items such as a comb and a spoon-fork.
The collection includes the cloth badge with Stephen’s registration number - UN120196, still attached to a piece of striped material from his concentration camp uniform worn in Sachsenhausen. The UN stands for ‘Ungar’ (Hungarian), and the red triangle indicated that he was a political prisoner.
Donated by Johnny Gonda (son) who at 17-years-old was in a labour camp in Hungary, escaped and went into hiding. Stephen was liberated by the Russians, and he and Johnny met up again in Budapest. In 1947 they immigrated to New Zealand.
Object namecutlery
Materialaluminium
Dimensions
- length: 155.00 mm
width: 47.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Johnny and Anna Gonda