Pair of tefillin and pouch owned by a Polish Jewish immigrant

A pair of tefillin with cardboard covers and pouch, owned by Max Zuckerman, a Polish Jewish immigrant who left Poland in 1923. Tefillin are small boxes containing prayers attached to leather straps and worn by Orthodox Jewish males during morning prayers. One of eleven siblings born in the town of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Max left to escape growing antisemitism, violent pogroms, and persecution by non-Jewish populations. He immigrated to Brazil where he worked as a peddler until he saved enough money to immigrate to the United States. Max wrote to his family to implore them to leave Poland and join him in the United States, even offering to pay for their fare. His father declined the offer, and German soldiers invaded and occupied the town on September 7, 1939. Between 1939 and 1944, most of the 16,000 Jewish residents were either forcibly transported to Treblinka killing center, killed in Ostrowiec, or conscripted into forced labor. Max’s parents, nine of his siblings, and their families were killed during the Holocaust. The only family members that survived were his sister, Mala, and four of her daughters, who were liberated from a Gross-Rosen subcamp in May 1945 and immigrated to the United States in 1948. Max Zuckerman (1904-1983) was born to Chaim Wolfe (?-1942) and Dvora (?-1942) Cukerman in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland, south of Radom. He had eight brothers—including Berish, Pincus, and Shlomo—and two sisters, Mala (later Kiejsman/Kazman, 1897-1979) and Sara (later Nusbaum, 1915-1942). Prior to World War II, over a third of Ostrowiec’s population was Jewish, most whom were Orthodox, such as the Cukermans. In the early 1900s, antisemitism was on the rise in Ostrowiec, and hostility towards Jews intensified. In 1923, Max and his cousin, Joe Glatt, immigrated to Brazil to escape the antisemitism and violent pogroms. There, they worked as peddlers until they saved enough money to immigrate to the United States. Max wrote to his family to implore them to leave Poland and join him in the United States, even offering to pay for their fare. His father, Chaim, declined the offer, after consulting with the local rabbi, who claimed that the family would lose their Jewish heritage if they left. The family was still in Poland when Germany invaded on September 1, 1939, and reached Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski on September 7. The soldiers plundered homes and businesses, and forced the Jewish population to hand over much of their personal property and food. They also subjected the Jewish population to regular beatings, dog attacks, hangings, and shootings. The Germans ordered the establishment of a Jewish Council to facilitate the provision of forced laborers and other demands. In April 1940, Max’s brother, Pincus, was conscripted for forced labor in Częstochowa, Poland, and during the summer, the SS selected a group of young men to send to the forced labor camps near Lublin. Restrictions for the Jewish population continued to tighten, and in April 1941, the Germans ordered the creation of an unfenced Jewish ghetto. 16,000 Jews were forced to move into an area 1.5 square miles in size. Poor sanitary conditions lead to a typhus outbreak in May. Periodically, groups of younger Jews would be sent to forced labor camps. Even though the ghetto was unfenced, the penalty for being caught outside was death. The first Aktion (mass assembly, deportation, and murder) from Ostrowiec began on October 10, 1942.10,000 to 12,000 Jews were forcibly transported to Treblinka killing center, and hundreds of others were shot, burned, and buried in mass graves. Only Jews with work cards were spared. Max’s sister, Sara, was among those who were killed at Treblinka. Those that remained were forced into a small, fenced ghetto, until another deportation on January 10, 1943, and a final deportation at the end of March. Between the final two deportations, German authorities established a forced labor camp in Ostrowiec, which operated until August 1944. Max’s sister, Mala, and four of her eight children worked in this forced labor camp until March 1944, when they were forcibly transported to the Auschwitz and later Gebhardsdorf and St. Georgenthal (subcamps of Gross-Rosen).They were liberated in May 1945, and immigrated to the New York area in 1948. Max’s parents, nine of his siblings, and their families were killed during the Holocaust. No restrictions on access