Eva Kovac scrapbook, 1930-1949.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Author/Creator:

Kovac, Eva, 1924-

Contributor:

Rosengarten Family Fund.

Language:

Czech

English

German

Hebrew

Subjects (All):

Kovac, Eva, 1924-.

Kovac, Eva.

Schill, Šimon, 1897-.

Schill, Šimon.

Schill, Frida.

Kováč, Ladislav, 1921-1988.

Kováč, Ladislav.

Theresienstadt (Concentration camp).

Jews--Czechoslovakia.

Jews.

Scrapbooks.

Jewish women in the Holocaust.

Czechoslovakia.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Czechoslovakia--Biography--Pictorial works.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945).

Theresienstadt (Concentration camp)--Pictorial works.

Jewish women in the Holocaust--Czechoslovakia--Pictorial works.

Scrapbooks--Slovakia--Bratislava--20th century.

Bratislava (Slovakia)--Social life and customs--20th century--Pictorial works.

Bratislava (Slovakia).

Slovakia--Bratislava.

Genre:

Codices.

Albums (Books)

Photographs.

Identity cards.

Clippings (information artifacts)

Manuscripts, Czech.

Pictorial works.

Biographies.

Illustrated works.

Penn Provenance:

Sold at auction by Kedem Auction House (Jerusalem, Israel), 2016, Auction no. 53, lot 149.

Physical Description:

1 volume + 6 items

Place of Publication:

1930-1949.

Language Note:

Chiefly in Czech with some German, Hebrew, and English.

Biography/History:

Eva Schillová was born to Šimon and Frieda Schill on April 11, 1924 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (Slovakia). She attended school in Bratislava where she studied various subjects. Following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia Eva and her family were issued identification cards in July 1944. They were deported from their home and sent to serve at Sered labor camp. Shortly after the family was sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp. Following their liberation on April 21, 1945 the Schill family moved back to Bratislava. Eva married Ladislav Kováč (1921-1988), an import/export fur merchant on May 9, 1948. The couple immigrated to Tel Aviv, Israel in February 1949 and soon after Eva's parents followed. The Kováč's celebrated the birth of their son Gabriel in July 1949. Later in her life Eva wrote two works; they were published in German. An autobiographical novel entitled Den kinderschuhen entwachsen ... recounting her life from Bratislava to Tel Aviv was published in 1997. The second book was published in 1999 and is entitled Ich lebe in zwei Welten.

Summary:

This oversize, blue, paper-covered volume comprises the scrapbook kept by Eva Kováč spanning the years from 1930 to 1949. The volume has been artistically and decoratively arranged by Kováč. Eva pasted black-and-white photographs, cut-outs of images, hand-drawn illustrations, and clippings in the volume. She combined the images, illustrations, and photographs to form collages creating a visual diary. There are captions, annotations, and music written in blue ink. The notations are chiefly in Czech with some items in German, Hebrew, and English. The items and images in the scrapbook are arranged chiefly in chronological order. Some pages depict several years of activities while some are dedicated to one year. Eva's carefully selected images, arrangements, and layouts provide each page with a specific theme. The leaves are filled with memories of her parents, her education, attending orchestra concerts, friends, favorite musicians, and travel. Eva's journeys took her to cities such as Prague, Piešt̕any, and Sofia. She went on school trips, family vacations, heath spa retreats, and excursions with friends. Several pages are dedicated to the orchestra and individual musicians. Also included are family celebrations including Kováč's birth and her parents' wedding anniversaries. Portions of the scrapbook are dedicated to the German occupation and propaganda against the Jews. One page has a German propaganda article pasted in concerning afflictions of the Jewish people. Several pages are dedicated to the Nazi occupation of Bratislava in 1944. On one page Kováč drew a swastika and announced she was issued her identification card marked "Žid" (Jew). A few pages depict the Schillová family's incarceration first at the Sered labor camp and then the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Kováč has created collages to depict the camp: one with an image of her father pushing a wheelbarrow, the yellow Star David badge, and a printed label "Ghetto Theresienstadt." The remainder of the volume describes the family's journey home and photographs of her life, her friends' lives, and meeting Ladislav Kováč. On a memorial page Eva created with photographs of friends, drawings, and named concentration camps she asks: "Where are their graves?" There are clippings concerning concentration camp survivors and pages referring to Palestine. The family vacationed in Tel Aviv in November 1947 and images of the trip are included. At the end of the volume Kováč recorded courtship, engagement, and marriage to Ladislav Kováč. . On the last pages of the scrapbook Eva recorded the couples' immigration to Tel Aviv and the birth of their son Gabriel in 1949. Six identification cards are included in the scrapbook. Two of them belonged to Eva's father Šimon Schill, one was issued to Eva Schillová, and three belonged to Ladislav Kováč.

Notes:

Ms. Codex.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rosengarten Family Fund.

OCLC:

970660468