Object numberM1996/033:020
DescriptionM1996/033:020 consists of three dark blue baby buttons.
Buttons were amongst the items found in the grave during the archaelogical excavation of the killing pit in Serniki, Ukraine, 1990.
"Mixed up with the teenager were the bones of baby. Also two bakelite buttons of the sort a baby would have on a matinee jacket, a small blue glass button with a moulding that looked grotesquely like the face on a modern Smiley button, and a flat mother-of-pearl button. There was also some elastic. It looked as though these children had not been stripped of their clothing." Sonia Wright, extract from her diary, 20 June 1990.
The Jews of Serniki were murdered in one day in early September 1942. The German execution squad arrived shortly before lunch and left in the late afternoon. With the help of local collaborators, the Jews were rounded up and brought to a pit 40 metres long and 5 metres wide on the outskirts of the village. The victims were forced to lie face down on the floor of the pit, while marksmen at the edge of the pit targeted the heads of the victims. Other victims were clubbed to death. Corpses were stacked on top of each other in layers. A considerable number of Jews did escape the slaughter by fleeing into the forests. Those who were later found were shot. Altogether, about 850 men, women and children were massacred.
Buttons were amongst the items found in the grave during the archaelogical excavation of the killing pit in Serniki, Ukraine, 1990.
"Mixed up with the teenager were the bones of baby. Also two bakelite buttons of the sort a baby would have on a matinee jacket, a small blue glass button with a moulding that looked grotesquely like the face on a modern Smiley button, and a flat mother-of-pearl button. There was also some elastic. It looked as though these children had not been stripped of their clothing." Sonia Wright, extract from her diary, 20 June 1990.
The Jews of Serniki were murdered in one day in early September 1942. The German execution squad arrived shortly before lunch and left in the late afternoon. With the help of local collaborators, the Jews were rounded up and brought to a pit 40 metres long and 5 metres wide on the outskirts of the village. The victims were forced to lie face down on the floor of the pit, while marksmen at the edge of the pit targeted the heads of the victims. Other victims were clubbed to death. Corpses were stacked on top of each other in layers. A considerable number of Jews did escape the slaughter by fleeing into the forests. Those who were later found were shot. Altogether, about 850 men, women and children were massacred.
Production placeSerniki, Ukraine
Subjectwar crimes, pit killings, genocide, archaeology, mass graves, archaeology, Australian link to Holocaust
Object namebuttons
Materialplastic
Dimensions
- diameter: 10.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by the War Crimes Investigation Unit