Marquer Scroll, Desecrated by Nazi Regime
c. 1940s, Front side - Scroll with Torah scripture printed by Jews and later desecrated by Nazis.
Tan parchment with printed handwriting in German using black ink. A blue 20-pfennig stamp depicting Adolf Hitler facing to the right is present at the center. The word "Feldpost" is underlined with red crayon or pencil. Directly to the left of the address, a circle in black ink.
Name/Title
Marquer Scroll, Desecrated by Nazi RegimeEntry/Object ID
2009.1.1Scope and Content
c. 1940s, scroll with Torah scripture printed by Jews and later desecrated by Nazis.Context
As part of their goal to eradicate all aspects of Jewish culture, the Nazi regime destroyed thousands of Jewish ceremonial objects, including Torah scrolls. Torah scrolls are highly revered, so there are strict guidelines in place for how to handle scrolls that have been damaged and desecrated. According to Jewish tradition, a scroll such as this that can no longer be used should be buried in a ceremony similar to a funeral. However, the Marquer Scroll followed a different, educational path instead. In 2004 or 2005, Danny Marquer was going through his mother’s effects, and discovered an object unlike anything else among her things. It was a thick piece of parchment with Hebrew writing on it. More than that – it had been defiled; written on in German and marked with a postage stamp with Hitler’s face on it. This fragment of Torah had been used as postage wrapping, and sent to Danny Marquer’s mother during the Second World War. After its discovery, Danny Marquer eventually got connected with Danny Spungen, a Trustee of the Spungen Family Foundation, thus starting the Scroll’s journey towards being used for educational purposes, to help teach about the Holocaust. The Spungen Family Foundation is continuing to update images, scans, and information of the Marquer Scroll. The scroll is currently on display at the Candles Holocaust Museum and Education Center museum in Terre Haute, Indiana.Collection
Scrolls, Jewish ReligionCategory
Scripture