rubber
Номер объектаM1992/011:013
Названиеrubber
ОписаниеPiece of rubber from a machine belt at a factory in Auschwitz. One day when Harry Fransman was working one of the huge machines broke down because a rubber belt broke. The Germans didn’t want to turn the machine off because that would have stopped production. They decided to have an especially thin prisoner slide underneath the huge moving parts and fix it. A German guard approached Harry and said he must lay on his back and they would shove him underneath. Parts were turning all above him and if he would have lifted his head slightly it would have been knocked off. It was dangerous and difficult. Once under the machine, Harry had to lift his hand slightly to replace the part. The broken piece fell to the ground. He felt compelled to keep it.
Harry J Fransman was born in Rotterdam on 16 September 1922 to parents Paulina and Bernard. He was the youngest of five children (Bep, Bella, Jonas and Caroline). His father was a pastry chef and had a cake shop. In May 1940 when the Germans invaded the Netherlands, Harry was working at Magazijn Nederland-Kattenburg & Company – a large menswear store – where he was learning the menswear trade. On 14 May 1940, while in the department store, he survived the German bombing of Rotterdam and the Dutch surrender. Soon after the Germans occupied Holland, they instituted anti-Jewish measures: Jews were required to wear the yellow Star of David, a ‘J’ was printed on Jewish passports and Jews were not allowed into cinemas, theatres, cafes, dances or trains. In 1941 all Jewish firms were taken over by the German administrators.
On 19 June 1942, Harry was required to report to the police station together with other youths. The Green Police (Grüne Polizei – uniformed police force in Nazi Germany) supervised their transport to Ybenheer camp (work camp in the province of Friesland). From there he was sent to a number of camps and ultimately Blechhammer, a sub-camp of Auschwitz. In January 1945 the camp was evacuated and he was sent on the Death March. He later escaped from a train on 9 February 1945 near the town of Leipzig. In Leipzig he was issued a Free Worker’s Passport which allowed him freedom and employment. He was liberated by the Americans in April 1945 while working on a farm near Penig, Germany. He returned to Holland and after recuperating at Huize Zorgfliet Convalescent Home, near The Hague in Scheveningen, Harry joined the Dutch Army. After the war he learned that only his sister Bep and Caroline survived the war. In December 1948 he immigrated to Australia on the SS Volendam.
Harry J Fransman was born in Rotterdam on 16 September 1922 to parents Paulina and Bernard. He was the youngest of five children (Bep, Bella, Jonas and Caroline). His father was a pastry chef and had a cake shop. In May 1940 when the Germans invaded the Netherlands, Harry was working at Magazijn Nederland-Kattenburg & Company – a large menswear store – where he was learning the menswear trade. On 14 May 1940, while in the department store, he survived the German bombing of Rotterdam and the Dutch surrender. Soon after the Germans occupied Holland, they instituted anti-Jewish measures: Jews were required to wear the yellow Star of David, a ‘J’ was printed on Jewish passports and Jews were not allowed into cinemas, theatres, cafes, dances or trains. In 1941 all Jewish firms were taken over by the German administrators.
On 19 June 1942, Harry was required to report to the police station together with other youths. The Green Police (Grüne Polizei – uniformed police force in Nazi Germany) supervised their transport to Ybenheer camp (work camp in the province of Friesland). From there he was sent to a number of camps and ultimately Blechhammer, a sub-camp of Auschwitz. In January 1945 the camp was evacuated and he was sent on the Death March. He later escaped from a train on 9 February 1945 near the town of Leipzig. In Leipzig he was issued a Free Worker’s Passport which allowed him freedom and employment. He was liberated by the Americans in April 1945 while working on a farm near Penig, Germany. He returned to Holland and after recuperating at Huize Zorgfliet Convalescent Home, near The Hague in Scheveningen, Harry joined the Dutch Army. After the war he learned that only his sister Bep and Caroline survived the war. In December 1948 he immigrated to Australia on the SS Volendam.
Дата circa 1944
Темаforced labour
Наименованиеsouvenirs
Материалrubber
Кредитная линияSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Harry Fransman