Vilma's Letter to Kurt Caps USHMM Year-End Campaign

Post date: Jan 1, 2013 3:40:09 PM

Throughout the year, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum sends out e-mails to tens of thousands of followers updating them on various programs and events the Museum is offering. They also feature stories of survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides, as well as other impacted by these world events. The purpose of these e-mails is to both educate and solicit donations to further these programs in upcoming years. At the end of each calendar year, the Museum shares some of their biggest and most important stories to encourage donors to open their wallets as the giving season draws to a close. On the last day of a featured story, December 30, the e-mail subject line read, "What Makes a Simple Scrap of Paper Extraordinary?" The story featured in this e-mail was that of Vilma's last words to Kurt and the donation of this amazing letter to the collection at USHMM.

The text of the e-mail by Executive Director Sara Bloomfield reads:

"What makes a simple scrap of paper extraordinary?

When it conveys a woman's last words to her beloved husband. When, despite insurmountable obstacles, it finds its way to him. When both are prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau. And when he—and the letter—survive to tell her story.

Vilma Grunwald's letter is one of the newest additions to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's collection. It is the only artifact I know of that gives us a sense of someone's state of mind hours before she will be murdered. Its rarity is matched only by its fragility—and we have been entrusted to preserve it for all time.

'Take care of the little golden boy ... I will be thinking of you and Miša. Have a fabulous life; we must board trucks. Into eternity,' wrote Vilma.

Her son, Frank (also known as Miša), chose to donate her letter to the Museum because, "I wanted other people, students and children, to see it, as evidence of what happened."

It will go on display at the Museum, which is visited by nearly 1.7 million people each year."

Included in the e-mail was this image of Vilma, John and Frank and an image of the letter, which plays a prominent role in the film.