Gift of Sugar siblings in memory of Rosenfeld & Schwartz families

Id no. 2000.A.103, Judaica

1944 to 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland

Subject(s):  Camps-death, Ritual, Sabbath

This short, braided havdalah candle, made of orange and red wax, was acquired by either Margit Rosenfeld or Anka Rosenfeld, probably upon their liberation from Auschwitz. The Rosenfeld sisters were Hungarian Jews, and were deported from their town of Tiszafüred to Auschwitz in 1944. Both survived the war and lived the remainder of their lives in Hungary. This candle was used to celebrate havdalah, a ceremony held at the end of Shabbat to mark the beginning of the new week.