Seder Plate
Object numberM2011/050
TitleSeder Plate
DescriptionGreen glazed earthenware Passover seder plate given to Samuel Steif (born Samuel Cohn) in the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp, 1948. Föhrenwald was one of the largest DP camps in post-war Europe and the last to close in 1957.
Engraved on the rim is a scene of slave labourers being forced to work by a master in the shadow of a pyramid and a group of buildings representing historic Jerusalem. The Hebrew text on one side of the decorative motif reads: "From Slavery to Freedom," and on the other: "This Year in Jerusalem". Inside another decorative motif are the Hebrew and English words "JOINT" and "Religious Office". Stamped on the back, we learn that it was made by the "rest of the rescued", with the Hebrew term "Sheerit ha-Pletah" (Surviving Remnant) and the English, "Employment Board". A Jewish relief organisation employed DP's in a ceramic workshop in Marktredwitz in Bavaria and distributed Pesach plates to different DP camps in Germany for the Passover of 1948.
The traditional saying on Passover is "Next year in Jerusalem" but this plate bears the inscription "This" year in Jerusalem. It expresses the concrete desire to emigrate to Palestine as quickly as possible.
Samuel Steif (born Samuel Cohn) was born 16 October 1923 in Rumania into a religious home. “At the time of receiving the seder plate in Föhrenwald I was still under the influence of my parents and religious upbringing. I kept the plate. It was meaningful to me.”
At the beginning of 1942, 18-year-old Samuel was called up for forced labour. He worked at the ‘School of Artillery Officers’ near Bucharest, as a tailor, making officer’s uniforms as well as cleaning toilets and the dormitories, 20 hours a day. He was liberated by the Russians in August 1944. After the war he met up with his childhood friend Toni Meltzer and they married. In 1947 they decided to leave communist Rumania for Israel. Samuel left his mother (his father had died after the war, never having recovered from being beaten up), they paid someone to be guided across the border to Hungary, took a train to Budapest, and from there the Bricha took them to the border of Austria. From there they were taken to Föhrenwald DP (displaced persons) camp where there were already 3,000 Jewish refugees and no more room. The only way to stay was to take the identity of someone who had died or left. This is how Samuel “finished up as Abraham Steif”. Later in Australia he officially changed his name back to Samuel, retaining the surname Steif.
In Föhrenwald he worked in the supply office in charge of distributing flour, eggs, butter, jam and clothing from the JOINT. He spent seven years in the DP camp, from 1947 until 1953. His wife, sick with lung problems, spent time in the sanatorium. Once she recovered they migrated to Norway. Sam had studied mechanical engineering in Germany and he continued his education in Norway, staying for six years. However, the climate was not good for his wife, “Nine months of winter and three months of cold!” The doctor recommended a warmer climate and friends in Australia helped by sending a landing permit. They arrived in Australia in 1959 on a Norwegian boat. Their friend, Ladislav Erenyi, came with a van and picked them up from Melbourne, driving them to Sydney. He got a job in a knitting mill factory and retired in 1989. Sam then began a long involvement with the NSW Jewish community, devoting time to the JCA, JNF, UIA, Montefiore and Strathfield Synagogue where he was President for 11 years. He was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2019. He died 15 December 2020, aged 97.
Engraved on the rim is a scene of slave labourers being forced to work by a master in the shadow of a pyramid and a group of buildings representing historic Jerusalem. The Hebrew text on one side of the decorative motif reads: "From Slavery to Freedom," and on the other: "This Year in Jerusalem". Inside another decorative motif are the Hebrew and English words "JOINT" and "Religious Office". Stamped on the back, we learn that it was made by the "rest of the rescued", with the Hebrew term "Sheerit ha-Pletah" (Surviving Remnant) and the English, "Employment Board". A Jewish relief organisation employed DP's in a ceramic workshop in Marktredwitz in Bavaria and distributed Pesach plates to different DP camps in Germany for the Passover of 1948.
The traditional saying on Passover is "Next year in Jerusalem" but this plate bears the inscription "This" year in Jerusalem. It expresses the concrete desire to emigrate to Palestine as quickly as possible.
Samuel Steif (born Samuel Cohn) was born 16 October 1923 in Rumania into a religious home. “At the time of receiving the seder plate in Föhrenwald I was still under the influence of my parents and religious upbringing. I kept the plate. It was meaningful to me.”
At the beginning of 1942, 18-year-old Samuel was called up for forced labour. He worked at the ‘School of Artillery Officers’ near Bucharest, as a tailor, making officer’s uniforms as well as cleaning toilets and the dormitories, 20 hours a day. He was liberated by the Russians in August 1944. After the war he met up with his childhood friend Toni Meltzer and they married. In 1947 they decided to leave communist Rumania for Israel. Samuel left his mother (his father had died after the war, never having recovered from being beaten up), they paid someone to be guided across the border to Hungary, took a train to Budapest, and from there the Bricha took them to the border of Austria. From there they were taken to Föhrenwald DP (displaced persons) camp where there were already 3,000 Jewish refugees and no more room. The only way to stay was to take the identity of someone who had died or left. This is how Samuel “finished up as Abraham Steif”. Later in Australia he officially changed his name back to Samuel, retaining the surname Steif.
In Föhrenwald he worked in the supply office in charge of distributing flour, eggs, butter, jam and clothing from the JOINT. He spent seven years in the DP camp, from 1947 until 1953. His wife, sick with lung problems, spent time in the sanatorium. Once she recovered they migrated to Norway. Sam had studied mechanical engineering in Germany and he continued his education in Norway, staying for six years. However, the climate was not good for his wife, “Nine months of winter and three months of cold!” The doctor recommended a warmer climate and friends in Australia helped by sending a landing permit. They arrived in Australia in 1959 on a Norwegian boat. Their friend, Ladislav Erenyi, came with a van and picked them up from Melbourne, driving them to Sydney. He got a job in a knitting mill factory and retired in 1989. Sam then began a long involvement with the NSW Jewish community, devoting time to the JCA, JNF, UIA, Montefiore and Strathfield Synagogue where he was President for 11 years. He was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2019. He died 15 December 2020, aged 97.
Production placeGermany
Production date circa 1948
Subjectdisplaced persons, DP Camps, survivors, liberation, Passover, Pesach, Seder service
Object nameplates
Materialceramic, earthenware
Dimensions
- diameter: 258.00 mm
depth: 30.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mr Samuel Steif