Holocaust Remembrance Day: Sixteen items Jews took when they fled the Nazis

Nearly 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, a new Holocaust exhibit highlights unique stories about the personal items of all sizes that Jews took when they fled the Nazis.

The exhibition, Sixteen Objects, includes a doll, black piano, a diary, a stethoscope, a glitzy evening purse and a menorah among the objects chosen from more than 50,000 items at Yad Vashem that are connected to the Holocaust.

The exhibit’s items represent Germany’s 16 states, with one coming from each region, and serve as a "reminder of the countless lives and communities destroyed by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust," Yad Vashem curators said in a release.

Evening bag belonging to Jenni Bachrach from Essen
Evening bag belonging to Jenni Bachrach from Essen

This year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day marks the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp on Jan. 27, 1945, as well as the 70th anniversary of the Yad Vashem memorial.

A pair of silver Torah finials belonging to Jacob and Bertha Weinschenk from Nürnberg
A pair of silver Torah finials belonging to Jacob and Bertha Weinschenk from Nürnberg

"By connecting the personal stories of these objects with the current modern locations in Germany, the exhibition creates a bridge between the memory of the past to present and future societies," curators' said.

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A photo showing the Hanukkah menorah belonging to the Posner family from Kiel, with a large swastika flag hanging from the facade of a building opposite, is part of an exhibition with items from Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. An exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial brings back to Germany a diverse set of everyday objects that Jews took with them when they fled the Nazis.
The doll 'Inge' of Holocaust survivor Lore Mayerfeld is part of an exhibition with items from Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. An exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial brings back to Germany a diverse set of everyday objects that Jews took with them when they fled the Nazis.
A letter the eleven year old Sigi Rapaport wrote to his mother at the Nazi concentration cam Stutthof is part of a exhibition with items from Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial at the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. An exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial brings back to Germany a diverse set of everyday objects that Jews took with them when they fled the Nazis.
Piano that belonged to Margulies family from Chemnitz
Piano that belonged to Margulies family from Chemnitz
Briefcase belonging to Josef Wolf from Greifswald
Briefcase belonging to Josef Wolf from Greifswald
A Tora shrine is part of an exhibition with items from Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. An exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial brings back to Germany a diverse set of everyday objects that Jews took with them when they fled the Nazis.
Toy kitchen belonging to Anneliese Dreifuss from Stuttgart
Toy kitchen belonging to Anneliese Dreifuss from Stuttgart
Matzah cover and stand made by Karoline Süss from Mainz
Matzah cover and stand made by Karoline Süss from Mainz
Diary that belonged to Miriam Feiner from Erfurt
Diary that belonged to Miriam Feiner from Erfurt
Medical tool that belonged Dr. Hermann Zondek from Berlin
Medical tool that belonged Dr. Hermann Zondek from Berlin
Towel from the factory of the Laufmann family in Wolmirstedt
Towel from the factory of the Laufmann family in Wolmirstedt
The suitcase bearing the name and date of birth of Holocaust victim Selma Sara Vellemann from Bremen, is part of an exhibition with items from Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. An exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial brings back to Germany a diverse set of everyday objects that Jews took with them when they fled the Nazis.
An exhibition with items from Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial is set up in the main hall of the Paul-Loebe-Haus of the German parliament Bundestag opposite the chancellory in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. An exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial brings back to Germany a diverse set of everyday objects that Jews took with them when they fled the Nazis.

Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team. 

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Holocaust Remembrance Day: 16 objects tells how Jews fled Nazis