Rare Wimpel for a Meggilat Esther. Purim, March 1933, Months after Hitler's Rise to Power

Rare Wimpel for a Meggilat Esther. Purim, March 1933, Months after Hitler's Rise to Power

Historic museum piece of first-rate importance.

Background: On January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed prime minister of Germany. During the twelve years of his rule, he triggered WWII and brought about the Holocaust. In doing this, he led the deaths of 64 million people, including approximately six million Jews killed in the Holocaust.

The custom of preparing a wimpel, mentioned for the first time in Sefer Minhagei Mahari"l in 1545, was practiced in Germany. When a child would come to synagogue for the first time, at a year or three years of age, there would be a short ceremony in which the cloth diaper would be gifted to the synagogue to replace the kerchief wrapped around the Torah scroll. At the bar mitzvah celebration when the boy turned 13, when he was called up to the Torah, the boy would be given the honor of reading from the Torah tied with his cloth diaper.

This wimpel is especially exceptional in that it was prepared for a scroll of Esther. The text written in color on the linen fabric is a quote from Esther: "Haman was hanged on the tree he prepared for Mordechai and the king's anger subsided."

This is an expression of the desire of the person who prepared the wimpel at the precipitous time about two months after the enemy of the Jews was appointed to the government of Germany. The date as well, Purim, 1933 - March 12th, 1933.

The name "Hitler son of Haman" was written on the right side of the wimpel. Hitler's name was erased at a later time, possibly because they didn't want the name of the arch-murderer mentioned on a sacred ritual item.

Inscribed at the end of the wimpel: "There is no moment without damage nor hour without evil" - a quote from the Shla"h HaKodesh written lyrically, in Hilchot Teshuvah: "There is no moment without damage nor hour without evil" together with a verse from the meggilah.

Small illustrations for the scroll of Esther, Haman hanging, Mordechai HaYehudi, Achashverosh, wine and glosses, and others all along the wimpel.

Length: 156 cm. Width: 8 cm.

Fine condition. Aging stains.