Object numberM1992/008:006
DescriptionWedding photograph of an unidentified group of young people, possibly Chalutzim (pioneers who move to Israel to help establish modern agricultural settlements), circa 1946-47, featuring a bride in wedding gown holding bouquet of flowers. On the wall behind is a sign in Hebrew reading, "We will build a true house in the land of Israel." Part of a collection of documents and photographs belonging to Holocaust survivor Max Schein.
Max Schein (formerly known as Moniek Himmelschein) was born in Warsaw, Poland on 15 January 1928 to Smol Goldstein and Chaya Himmelschein. He had two brothers, Yankele and Herzl, and two sisters, Yadviga and Chana. The family suffered great financial hardship and when their father Smol died when Max was only six months old, his mother was unable to support all her children. Yankele and Max were sent to orphanages until Max was age 10. Returning home, his childhood continued to be difficult. His mother could not work and often could not feed her family. He experienced frequent anti-Semitism throughout Junior school, often involving physical violence.
When war broke out the family escaped to a set of horse stables. They lived there for a month until the German occupation, when they were moved into what would become the Warsaw Ghetto. There was no running water or electricity and food was scarce. Max’s light hair and perfect Polish, learned through the orphanage, allowed him to pass as a non-Jew and move around Warsaw relatively easily. In mid-1940, Max tried to escape with his family but they became separated.
Max survived by moving from village to village over the next few years under false names. He suffered physical and sometimes sexual abuse by farmers and villagers in his search for food, work and clothing. At the end of the war Max returned to Warsaw to look for his family. He found that his brother Yankele was murdered in Auschwitz, but his mother and sisters survived. They spent some time in displaced persons camps in Austria before immigrating to Australia in 1949.
Max Schein (formerly known as Moniek Himmelschein) was born in Warsaw, Poland on 15 January 1928 to Smol Goldstein and Chaya Himmelschein. He had two brothers, Yankele and Herzl, and two sisters, Yadviga and Chana. The family suffered great financial hardship and when their father Smol died when Max was only six months old, his mother was unable to support all her children. Yankele and Max were sent to orphanages until Max was age 10. Returning home, his childhood continued to be difficult. His mother could not work and often could not feed her family. He experienced frequent anti-Semitism throughout Junior school, often involving physical violence.
When war broke out the family escaped to a set of horse stables. They lived there for a month until the German occupation, when they were moved into what would become the Warsaw Ghetto. There was no running water or electricity and food was scarce. Max’s light hair and perfect Polish, learned through the orphanage, allowed him to pass as a non-Jew and move around Warsaw relatively easily. In mid-1940, Max tried to escape with his family but they became separated.
Max survived by moving from village to village over the next few years under false names. He suffered physical and sometimes sexual abuse by farmers and villagers in his search for food, work and clothing. At the end of the war Max returned to Warsaw to look for his family. He found that his brother Yankele was murdered in Auschwitz, but his mother and sisters survived. They spent some time in displaced persons camps in Austria before immigrating to Australia in 1949.
SubjectRosh Hashana
Object namephotographs
Dimensions
- width: 100.00 mm
height: 70.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mr Max Schein