Jacket From Dachau

In July of 2015, the KHRCA was contacted by a vintage clothing dealer about a recent acquisition of a unique garment at an estate sale. In the back of a walk-in closet, amid a variety of old shirts and vintage dresses, hung a faded striped jacket. A year later, we now know the story of Benzion Peresetski, a young Jewish man from Lithuania who wore this jacket for ten months in Dachau and kept it for 33 years. The exhibit tells Peresetski's story of his immigration to the US, his legal pursuit for reparations, as well as historic photos, maps, multiple testimonies, and short films. It is a story of Holocaust survival, chance encouters, and how a single artifact can weave a narrative of justice, identity, and a search for home.