Artifacts

The Artifacts Collection at Yad Vashem houses a range of sports artifacts, including trophies, medals and certificates awarded to Jewish sportsmen and women in different sports categories. Alongside the cups and medals won at competitions and championships, the collection also preserves simple artifacts that belonged to Jews who enjoyed spending their leisure time engaging in sports. Owned by professionals and amateurs, these artifacts tell the story of their sporting achievements and their fate during the Holocaust, and give us a glimpse into their lives before the war, which included many hours of training and participation in competitions, driven by aspirations of excellence. As well as revealing personal stories, the artifacts provide information about Jewish sports clubs, and about the sporting culture in Jewish communities and in European countries prior to World War II.

The tennis racquet belonged to Dr. Shimon Schmorak and his wife Sofia
Dr. Shimon Schmorak, a doctor from Warsaw, and his wife Sofia, a doctor of physics, liked to play tennis in their free time. After the war broke out, Dr. Schmorak was given a special permit to leave Poland for Trieste, Italy, thanks to his having treated the wife of a Polish officer. The family left Poland, and reached Eretz Israel from Italy in May 1940. The tennis racquet was one of the items that they brought with them from home.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection, Gift of Hanna Bashan, Israel
Bicyclist Moshe Cukierman's Maccabi cap
Bicyclist Moshe Cukierman's Maccabi cap. Cukierman served as captain of the cycling team of the Bar Kochba organization in Lodz, and head of the Cyclists' Association in Lodz, as well as adjudicating at cycling competitions throughout Poland. Continue reading >>>
Trophy awarded to athlete Maryla Freiwald marking 10 years since the establishment of the Maccabi Kracow sports club
Trophy awarded to athlete Maryla Freiwald marking 10 years since the establishment of the Maccabi Kracow sports club.
Maryla Freiwald started out at the Maccabi Kracow sports club, and became one of Poland’s leading sportswomen. She was Polish champion in the 80 meter hurdles, 100 meter sprint and long jump categories, and represented Poland at many international tournaments.
During the Holocaust, Maryla was deported to the Krakow ghetto, she was incarcerated in the Bronowice prison and later in a camp near the town of Miechów.
She was liberated in January 1945. She married and adopted her sister´s daughter Stella. Stella had survived thanks to her rescuers who were Righteous Among the Nations but her parents were murdered.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection, Gift of the Association of Cracowians in Israel
Outstanding Maccabiah Athlete trophy, a gift of the Tel Aviv Municipality, awarded to athlete Maryla Freiwald at the 1935 Maccabiah games
Outstanding Maccabiah Athlete trophy, a gift of the Tel Aviv Municipality, awarded to athlete Maryla Freiwald at the 1935 Maccabiah games. Maryla Freiwald started out at the Maccabi Kracow sports club, and became one of Poland’s leading sportswomen. She was Polish champion in the 80 meter hurdles, 100 meter sprint and long jump categories, and represented Poland at many international tournaments.
During the Holocaust, Maryla was deported to the Krakow ghetto, she was incarcerated in the Bronowice prison and later in a camp near the town of Miechów. She was liberated in January 1945. She married and adopted her sister´s daughter Stella. Stella had survived thanks to her rescuers who were Righteous Among the Nations but her parents were murdered.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection, Gift of the Association of Cracowians in Israel
Star of David embroidered by Regina Goldach prior to her planned departure for the Maccabiah games
Star of David embroidered by Regina Goldach prior to her planned departure for the Maccabiah games. Her trip to the Maccabiah was cancelled for financial reasons, and she immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1939. Regina’s sister, Sala, sewed the Star of David onto a piece of material and gave her handiwork to Regina as a farewell gift.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection.
Gift of Malka Tecichner (Regina Goldach), Israel
Seven-year-old Regina Zimet’s membership card for the Maccabi sports club in Leibzig.
Seven-year-old Regina Zimet's membership card for the Maccabi sports club in Leibzig.
The Zimet family managed to cross the border into Italy, and made their way to Benghazi, Libya in July 1939, on their way to Eretz Israel. However, when Italy joined the war in 1940 and was allied with Germany, the Zimets were returned to Italy and the family was interned in the Ferramonti camp. Some time later they were released together with other families, and moved to villages in northern Italy, initially living freely and later under an assumed identity.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection,
Gift of Efraim Levi, Israel
Football shirt and souvenirs of the Maccabi Kovno sports club that Shmuel Burstein, a player in Maccabi Kovno’s football team, brought to Eretz Israel with him in the 1930s
Football shirt and souvenirs of the Maccabi Kovno sports club that Shmuel Burstein, a player in Maccabi Kovno’s football team, brought to Eretz Israel with him in the 1930s. Shmuel came to Eretz Israel for the second Maccabiah games, and stayed there.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection. Gift of Nira Lavid, USA
Trophy won by the Bar Kochba sports club in Germany
Trophy won by the Bar Kochba sports club in Germany. The statuette was awarded as a prize for winning a sports tournament, and was passed between different sports clubs that won competitions. There are three inscriptions on the base of the statuette, from 1924, 1926 and 1929 respectively. In 1929, the Jewish Bar Kochba sports club was awarded the trophy.
The statuette of the young man in the classical style was popular in the Nazi period as it represented the "perfect Aryan". The statuette was found among the possessions of Regina Ravitz from Nuremberg, Germany, who immigrated to Eretz Israel with her parents in 1936.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection.
Gift of Ruth Sherman, Ramat Gan, Israel
Medals that were awarded to Moshe Cukierman, captain of the cycling team of the Bar Kochba sports club in Lodz during the 1920s and '30s
Medals that were awarded to Moshe Cukierman, captain of the cycling team of the Bar Kochba sports club in Lodz during the 1920s and '30s. Continue reading >>>