Object numberM2012/010:001
DescriptionPhoto identity card issued to Jakob Edelstein, Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, circa 1941.
One of the first Czech Jewish self-administrations was established in Prague, in autumn 1941, under the Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich. This type of cardboard cut-out wallet sized card was standard issue to the organization's members. It shows Jakob Edelstein in a role of the deputy position, his date and place of birth (25.7.1903, Horodenka), family status (married with 1 child) and current address (Bilekgasse 11, Prague 1). It is unknown whether Edelstein brought the card with him to Terezin.
Identity cards are thought to be part of a chart containing a number of department heads and community leaders. This is one of 29 similar cards in the collection demonstrating Nazi bureaucratic apparatus and its work. By order of SS Officer, Hans Gunther, head of the Prague Central office for Jewish Emigration, it was thought to be first displayed at the Prague Jewish Community offices.
Part of a large collection of archival material donated by Eva Gertler, assembled by her father, Moric (Moci) Kohn during the war, in particular during his imprisonment in Terezin.
Moric (Moci) Kohn was born 28 July 1903 in Bratislava. He trained as a book-keeper and was a gymnast representing Czechoslovakia in the Maccabi Games. He came from an observant Jewish family, the youngest of 11 children, 7 of whom lived to adulthood. He moved to Prague during the 1930's where he was involved with the Jewish community, working under Dr Adolf Benes in the Emigration section of the Jewish self-administration established during the Nazi occupation of Bohemia and Moravia. Moric accompanied a group making aliya during this period, but returned to Prague to be with Greta Pick (his future wife).
They were married in late 1941 and deported together on 30 July 1942 from Prague to Terezin. In Terezin, Moric worked in the post department, collecting parcels and mail from Bauschowitz (Bohusovice) railway station outside Terezin and delivering them to the inmates. He was deported to Auschwitz on 28 October 1944 and liberated from Blechhammer. Moric returned to Prague where he worked for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Eva, their daughter, was amongst the first children born in Prague (1946) after the Shoah to a couple who had survived in concentration camps. After the Communists came to power in Czechoslovakia, all those working for American organisations were alerted to leave hurriedly. The Kohn family arrived in Sydney in early 1948.
One of the first Czech Jewish self-administrations was established in Prague, in autumn 1941, under the Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich. This type of cardboard cut-out wallet sized card was standard issue to the organization's members. It shows Jakob Edelstein in a role of the deputy position, his date and place of birth (25.7.1903, Horodenka), family status (married with 1 child) and current address (Bilekgasse 11, Prague 1). It is unknown whether Edelstein brought the card with him to Terezin.
Identity cards are thought to be part of a chart containing a number of department heads and community leaders. This is one of 29 similar cards in the collection demonstrating Nazi bureaucratic apparatus and its work. By order of SS Officer, Hans Gunther, head of the Prague Central office for Jewish Emigration, it was thought to be first displayed at the Prague Jewish Community offices.
Part of a large collection of archival material donated by Eva Gertler, assembled by her father, Moric (Moci) Kohn during the war, in particular during his imprisonment in Terezin.
Moric (Moci) Kohn was born 28 July 1903 in Bratislava. He trained as a book-keeper and was a gymnast representing Czechoslovakia in the Maccabi Games. He came from an observant Jewish family, the youngest of 11 children, 7 of whom lived to adulthood. He moved to Prague during the 1930's where he was involved with the Jewish community, working under Dr Adolf Benes in the Emigration section of the Jewish self-administration established during the Nazi occupation of Bohemia and Moravia. Moric accompanied a group making aliya during this period, but returned to Prague to be with Greta Pick (his future wife).
They were married in late 1941 and deported together on 30 July 1942 from Prague to Terezin. In Terezin, Moric worked in the post department, collecting parcels and mail from Bauschowitz (Bohusovice) railway station outside Terezin and delivering them to the inmates. He was deported to Auschwitz on 28 October 1944 and liberated from Blechhammer. Moric returned to Prague where he worked for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Eva, their daughter, was amongst the first children born in Prague (1946) after the Shoah to a couple who had survived in concentration camps. After the Communists came to power in Czechoslovakia, all those working for American organisations were alerted to leave hurriedly. The Kohn family arrived in Sydney in early 1948.
Production placePrague, Czech Republic
Production date 1940 - 1941
Object nameidentity cards
Materialpaper, photographic emulsion, paper, paper
Dimensions
- width: 115.00 mm
height: 55.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Eva Gertler