Esther Wilkenfeld papers

The collection documents the post-war experiences of Esther Wilkenfeld (née Halm), originally of Yasinia, Czechoslovakia (Yasinia, Ukraine), including identification cards, a document from the Labor Office of Glauchau, and certificate from the Feldafing displaced persons camp labor office. Esther Wilkenfeld (1921-2012) was born Esther Halm on 1921 March 2 in Yasinia, Czechoslovakia (Yasinia, Ukraine) to Hermina (1885-1944) and Jechiel Halm (1881-1944). She had six siblings: Chaya (d. 2009), Daniel (1924-1944), Leo (1922-2013), Manci (1910-1944), Menachem, and Utta (1908-1994). In April 1944 Esther was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. In July 1944 she was transferred to the Gelsenkirchen subcamp of Buchenwald and then to the Sömmerda subcamp in October 1944. Esther was liberated in 1944 and later married one of the American soldiers she encountered, Norman Wilkenfeld (1916-2012). After the war, Esther lived in the Feldafing displaced persons camp. She immigrated to the United States in 1946 aboard the SS Marine Flasher. She and Norman had one son, Jack.