Buchenwald Concentration Camp Uniform
The Museum of the Airforce in Dayton Ohio is home to some of the the coolest, and most historically significant airplanes in the world. For today’s adventure though we’ll look at one of it’s rarest artifacts, from one of the darkest moments in human history. Fair warning to my readers, this one is not going to be a fun read. As a lover of history though, I am a firm believer that if we don’t learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it. I don’t want to make this political, but we are living in a time where some people seem very eager to help us forget about certain ugly parts of our past. It is with that in mind, that I’m choosing to share this.
The artifact of our focus today is a simple black & grey stripped coat. It features on it’s left-breast a patch bearing a serial number. It is instantly recognizable as a prison uniform, but it’s true nature is so much darker.
Moritz Bomstein was born in Poland in 1904. After the Nazi’s rise to power he and his family were relocated to the Piotrkow Ghetto. Shortly after his wife and daughters were sent to a Treblinka (a Nazi death camp) and were never heard from again. Moritz and his son Jack were sent to Czestochowa and then the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. It was here that Moritz was issued and wore this uniform.
Towards the end of the war they were moved to the Dachau concentration camp, and were being transported by train to yet another camp (and likely their deaths) when it was stopped and liberated by American soldiers.
After 5 years in a “Displaced Persons” camp Moritz and young Jack immigrated to Cincinnati. Moritz would pass in 1954 at age 49 of a heart attack. After his death Jack, who had moved to Dayton, donated this most unusual artifact to the museum in honor of his father, and so that the horrors his family endured would never be forgotten.
I’m not gonna lie, this “adventure” is a hard one to process. Standing in front of this simple garment one cannot help but be overwhelmed by the enormity of human suffering that was the holocaust. The Nazi’s carried out a systematic slaughter of human beings with an industrial efficiency that is simply unthinkable. Over 6 million human beings were murdered simply due to their ethnic/religious background.
If you get the chance to see this one in person, it’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s a life changing experience. Even just looking at the picture as I write this article, I feel the crushing weight of that pain and suffering. I ask that you spend a few minutes here today just looking at this garment, and reflect on what exactly it represents. In a time filled with so much anger and strife, we can all use a reminder of just how far hating your fellow man can go.
Want to Experience This Adventure for Yourself?:
The Museum of the Airforce
1100 Spaatz St, Dayton, OH 45431
