These baby boots were made for Max Beer when he was a child. He was born on May 18, 1947, in the displaced persons camp of Pocking, Germany.
Max Beer's Baby Boots
The birth certificate of Max Beer. He was born on May 18, 1947 in a DP camp created by the UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration).
Max’s Parents and Holocaust Survivors
Max’s mother, Genia Paris Einzenberg, was detained for three years in the forced labour camp of Skarzysko-Kamienna. Her husband Israel Einzenberg, their young child, as well as her parents and six of her siblings died in the Holocaust. Genita met her second husband, Leo Beer, in Poland after the war.
Leo was a soldier in the Soviet army, but was evacuated after being injured. He survived the war, but his mother and two brothers died during the Holocaust. Leo’s father immigrated to Montreal before the beginning of the war.
Displaced Persons’ Camps
In post-war Poland, antisemitism and pogroms continued and many Holocaust survivors did not feel safe. Like the Beer family, many left to live in displaced persons’ camp created in Germany and other European countries. Between 1945 and 1952, these camps were home to more than 250,000 refugees waiting for relocation. A thriving Jewish social and cultural life developed in these camps where many marriages and births were also celebrated.
Max Beer’s family settled in Canada on January 18, 1949. His parents kept these boots, which he donated to the Museum in 2002.
A passion for history and sharing knowledge: Thomas Vennes’ involvement
Thomas Vennes, a volunteer Museum guide since 2016, tells us about Max Beer’s baby boots in this video, recorded as part of the “Objects of Memory” project.
This project is part of the implementation of the Plan culturel numérique du Québec.
