Photograph
Jews Construct a Ritual Bath at a Displaced Persons Camp
![Construction of a mikveh (ritual bath) by religious Jews; Neu Freimann D.P. camp; Munich.<p>Saul Sorrin was interviewed as part of the Wisconsin Survivors of the Holocaust Interviews project. Sorrin, born in New York in 1919, applied in 1940 for a position with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). He worked with Holocaust survivors as a supply officer for UNRAA team 560 at the Displaced Persons camp Neu Freimann Siedlung in Germany and later, at General Dwight D. Eisenhower's recommendation, Sorrin became the Area Director of the International Refugee Organization based at the Wolfratshausen DP camp in Bad Kissingen.</p>When asked about this image, Sorrin revealed, "This is the construction of a mikveh in the Neu Freimann camp. These are two members of a religious community who were building. The man on the left, I remember he was so persistent... Because we have to get things, you know, we have to get the boiler to heat the water and we had to get kakhl, tiles, and we had to get piping, all of which was impossible to come by in those days. They got the JDC to put up about three hundred cartons of cigarettes and with three hundred cartons of cigarettes you could get anything in Germany at that time. And that's the way the [tsukhke organizirt ?]. They called it organizing, sort of just made it available to themselves. And I understand that this mikveh which was built was a short swimming pool and is still there in this house in Munich. We visited there last August. I should have found that picture and brought it back. Building a mikveh."
Interview by Jean Loeb Lettofsky and David Mandel, March 3, 1980.](http://images.wisconsinhistory.org/700099990638/9999009853-l.jpg "Jews Construct a Ritual Bath at a Displaced Persons Camp")
| Construction of a mikveh (ritual bath) by religious Jews; Neu Freimann D.P. camp; Munich. Saul Sorrin was interviewed as part of the Wisconsin Survivors of the Holocaust Interviews project. Sorrin, born in New York in 1919, applied in 1940 for a position with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). He worked with Holocaust survivors as a supply officer for UNRAA team 560 at the Displaced Persons camp Neu Freimann Siedlung in Germany and later, at General Dwight D. Eisenhower's recommendation, Sorrin became the Area Director of the International Refugee Organization based at the Wolfratshausen DP camp in Bad Kissingen. When asked about this image, Sorrin revealed, "This is the construction of a mikveh in the Neu Freimann camp. These are two members of a religious community who were building. The man on the left, I remember he was so persistent... Because we have to get things, you know, we have to get the boiler to heat the water and we had to get kakhl, tiles, and we had to get piping, all of which was impossible to come by in those days. They got the JDC to put up about three hundred cartons of cigarettes and with three hundred cartons of cigarettes you could get anything in Germany at that time. And that's the way the [tsukhke organizirt ?]. They called it organizing, sort of just made it available to themselves. And I understand that this mikveh which was built was a short swimming pool and is still there in this house in Munich. We visited there last August. I should have found that picture and brought it back. Building a mikveh." Interview by Jean Loeb Lettofsky and David Mandel, March 3, 1980. |
| Image ID: | 57844 |
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| Creation Date: | date unknown |
| Creator Name: | Sorrin, Saul |
| City: | |
| County: | |
| State: | |
| Collection Name: | Wisconsin survivors of the Holocaust. Interviews and photographs, circa 1939-circa 1945, 1974-1975, 1980-1981 |
| Genre: | Photograph |
| Original Format Type: | negative, b/w copy |
| Original Format Number: | PH 3187.20.21 |
| Original Dimensions: | 35mm |
| Outdoor photography |
| Refugees |
| Religion |
| Rites and ceremonies |
| Construction workers |
| Camps |
| Clothing and dress |
| Men |
| Jews |
| Hats |
| Housing |
| Holocaust survivors |
| This image is issued by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Collections Division. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. The image should not be significantly altered through conventional or electronic means. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with a staff member. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. Please Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society. |
| Location: | Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, 4th Floor, Madison, Wisconsin |
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