Collection of Items owned by Josephine Micheels, a Dutch Jewish woman born on November 18, 1917, in The Hague. Holland and Czechoslovakia, 1943. Dutch and French.
Micheels, as gathered from the items in this collection, was deported from The Hague to Vught Concentration Camp in April 1943, from there to Westerbork Police Transit Camp for Jews, where she was held between July 1943 and September 1944, and from there to Theresienstadt, where she was held between September 1944 and February 1945. Afterwards, Micheels was held in two other camps and later, it seems, she returned to Holland.
The collection includes:
1-2. Two programs of events organized by the "Bühne Lager Westerbork" theater group active in Westerbork, directed by Max Ehrlich, with the participation of Willy Rosen, Erich Ziegler, Lishl Frank, Otto Aurich, and others. The group performed theater plays, cabaret and opera. One program, "Humor und Melodie" (program no. 2), was held on September 4, 1943 ["Humor and Melody", was the largest production by Ehrlich in the camp], and the other, "Bunter Abend" (program no. 4), was performed on March, 1944.
3-8. Six poems handwritten by Micheels, composed for her loved one.
9. Notebook with 16 handwritten leaves, most probably from the period during which Micheels stayed in Vught and Westerbork camps, as well as a note written while in Theresienstadt.
10-13. Four postcards sent to Micheels (two from Fernand Haas, or maybe all four of them), one sent to her address in The Hague and three to Westerbork camp. Two postcards were written on designated postcards of a German camp for prisoners of war (Kriegsgefangenenlager); one envelope addressed to Micheels, in barrack no. 65 (with handwritten inscriptions on the envelope).
14. Remnants of a work certificate (Arbeitsausweis) of Micheels, from Theresienstadt.
15. Paper label with her name and date of birth.
Enclosed are some additional documents.
Sizes and conditions vary. Some items in fair-poor condition.