Mynameisbook Pages 05.30.181

2 OPENED JANUARY 18, 2017 In 1945, a former convent near Dachau named Kloster Indersdorf became a temporary home for hundreds of displaced children in the immediate aftermath of World War II. To help locate relatives, a photograph was taken of each child to be circulated in search notices. Many of the children had changed markedly during the war, and some had even lost their names. The My Name Is… installation displays a selection of the children’s images and their individual stories (when known), conveying the powerful reality faced by these young people. Images of the children from the Museum’s collection came through the gift of Robert Marx to the Yaffa Eliach Collection of the Center for Holocaust Studies. Dr. Eliach established the Center for Holocaust Studies, Documentation and Research — the first organization in the United States dedicated to the study of the Holocaust — in 1974. The Center’s collection was merged into the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in 1990. This set of prints survived thanks to André S. Marx, Principal Welfare Officer for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) Relief Team 182 that operated the Children’s Center at Kloster Indersdorf. Contextual images courtesy, United Nations Archives, photographs of Kloster Indersdorf from folder S-1058-0001-01, “Germany Mission – Photographs 1944-1948.” 5 My Name Is... Is... Name My In times of war, the lives of children are among the most fragile and often shift in unimaginable directions. When the end of World War II brought liberation to Europe, it also brought chaos and confusion. Children and teens who had managed to survive began the heartbreaking search for relatives. Many had survived concentration camps, forced labor, life in hiding, and the devastating loss of family members. Most The Lost Children of Kloster Indersdorf Kloster of Children Lost The faced great uncertainty after liberation, with no obvious path forward. For these “lost” children , immediate relief was needed. To this end, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) secured an abandoned convent in the American zone of post-war Germany — not far from the Dachau concentration camp. Here at Kloster Indersdorf, an international children’s center was established to shelter and assist unaccompanied children as they searched for family members and new homes. The children’s center cared for hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish children who represented more than 20 nationalities. In October of 1945, a photograph was taken of each child holding a plaque with his or her name on it. Many children had changed markedly during the war; others arrived without clear identifying information. My Name Is... displays the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust collection of photographs taken at the children’s center and conveys the powerful reality faced by children and teens caught between the 9 worlds of war and home. A PLACE TO CARE FOR CHILDREN OF WAR In July of 1945, 11 international volunteers with UNRRA’s Team 182 began their work at Kloster Indersdorf to assist non-German orphans found in the American zone of Germany. Beyond the basic services of shelter, nourishment, clothing, and medical care , Kloster Indersdorf offered education, recreation, and a therapeutic environment. The youngest children to arrive were often those who had been born to forced laborers. Many of the older children were forced laborers themselves and had survived The Lost Children of Kloster Indersdorf Kloster of Children Lost The the horrors of the concentration camps. All residents at the children’s center needed the attention of caring volunteers and the kinship of others who had gone through similar experiences. The sheer number of children and the services needed kept the Team working around the clock. They enlisted the help of nuns who had previously worked at the convent as well as adult displaced persons who could teach the children in their own languages. Each child who arrived at Kloster Indersdorf was interviewed to promote healing and in the hope that their families or origins could be traced. Many children eagerly shared their stories, though others were understandably cautious. Some were simply too young to be able to report full or accurate information about themselves. 11 THE WAY “HOME” All of the children at Kloster Indersdorf were desperate to locate surviving family members or more distant relatives in safe countries. In mid-October of 1945, an American photographer, Charles Haacker, was brought to Kloster Indersdorf to photograph each child in the hope that the images might be published to find living relatives. A bed sheet hanging on the wall provided a neutral background, and a teen resident at Indersdorf — Salek Benedikt — artistically wrote each name on the nameplates. The Lost Children of Kloster Indersdorf Kloster of Children Lost The Some of the photographs were used as passport pictures as the children left to start new lives. A main function of the center was to repatriate the children or find them new homes — in accordance with the wishes of each child. Many of the Jewish teens initially hoped family members had made it home after the war and were restless to return and investigate. The center staff allowed them to go search — equipped with backpacks, food, and paperwork. Though some reunions took place, many of the children were bitterly disappointed. Kloster Indersdorf also became known as a place where adult displaced persons could look for their children. Many days the center received eager adults at its doors, searching for their lost children. 13 My Name Is... Is... Name My Sinaida Grussman arrived at Kloster Indersdorf in August of 1945. She spoke only a few words of Romanian and Lithuanian, and her short stature led staff to believe she was born around 1937. After developing a trusting relationship with a Latvian teacher who was herself a displaced person, Sinaida revealed that she spoke Latvian at home and that her family had relocated to Russia 14 during the war. The teacher learned that Sinaida last saw her father when he joined the army, and that her sister was dead. No one at the children’s center was able to confirm Sinaida’s religion or nationality. Shortly after this picture was taken in October 1945, Sinaida was sent to England. The Lost Children of Kloster Indersdorf Kloster of Children Lost The 15 My Name Is... Is... Name My Halina Bryks was 17 years old when she arrived at Kloster Indersdorf. After the murder of her parents, Halina was a forced laborer in the Markstädt and Fünfteichen camps — working in kitchens, construction, and munitions. After liberation, Halina went 16 back to her hometown of Olkusz in Poland. However, encountering anti-Semitism there, she decided to go to northern Bavaria, and then to Kloster Indersdorf. At Indersdorf, Halina was part of a group of 28 Jewish residents determined to go to Palestine. British authorities eventually permitted the group entry to Palestine in April of 1946. The Lost Children of Kloster Indersdorf Kloster of Children Lost The 17 My Name Is... Is... Name My Chaim Swinik — originally of Minsk, Poland — was six years old when the war ended. He and his brother Aron had survived the war in Russia, where they lived with their stepmother. After the war, the brothers met a man who had been in a work camp with their father and learned of his death. UNRRA worker Greta Fischer brought 18 them to Kloster Indersdorf, which arranged for their placement in England. After a few years in England, their stepmother — then living in Israel — appealed to a Youth Aliyah organization so they could come stay with her. In February of 1949 they arrived in Israel, where they still live today. The Lost Children of Kloster Indersdorf Kloster of Children Lost The 19 My Name Is... Is... Name My Stanisław Janowski was born in Warsaw in 1930. When he was nine years old, his father and older brother were killed in an air raid as the Germans invaded Poland. Stanisław’s cousin was active in the Polish resistance, and Stanisław became a messenger for the Warsaw Uprising. In the summer of 1944 his cousin was killed, so he lived on the streets with other boys until the Germans forced them to work in a BMW aircraft factory in Berlin. He was being transported west in the spring of 1945 when Americans liberated him near Munich. When the war ended, Stanisław went back to Warsaw where he learned that his mother had been deported to Germany. He searched former labor camps for her, without success. In Munich, UNRRA worker Greta Fischer found Stanisław homeless and hungry in the Deutsches Museum — a meeting point for displaced persons. 20 Greta brought Stanisław to Kloster Indersdorf, where he was amazed to have his own bed, decent clothing, and even chocolate. In 1947 Stanisław learned that his mother had survived the war, and he was repatriated to Poland , where he completed his education and became a geography teacher. He lives in Warsaw today. The Lost Children of Kloster Indersdorf Kloster of Children Lost The 21 My Name Is... Is... Name My Nina Krieger was born in 1932 in Lwów, Poland. Her father was a textile trader who provided a comfortable home for Nina and her siblings. The children were raised by a nanny after their mother died of pneumonia in 1934. Nina’s father was killed in 1941, and the children were deported to the Lwów ghetto that year. One night, Nina and her siblings were taken to a forest with other Jews from the ghetto. Though Nina managed to hide in the forest, she witnessed the horrors that befell the others, including her siblings.

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