Family fears Holocaust golden heirloom posted to UK has been stolen
A FAMILY fears an heirloom which was kept from the Nazis in the Holocaust has been stolen after it got lost in the post between America and Britain.
The gold pendant was made by Nazi death camp victim Vilem Werner for niece Eva in the 1930s and became a treasured symbol for his surviving family.
Eva, who survived the Holocaust and swam to freedom from communist Czechoslovakia in 1960, kept it until her death five years ago.
But her relatives fear the priceless piece of jewellery may now be lost to future generations after Eva’s husband Jan Rocek, 96, tried to send it to her cousin, who lives in Oxford.
Mim Saxl, 39, the intended recipient, said: “Jan had decided that he wanted to give this pendant to my younger daughter who is named after Eva, so it could be worn in her memory and her memory would live on.
“He didn’t want my older daughter, Maya, to feel left out, so he got one made in a similar style to say her name, and he put them both in the post.
“The mistake he feels he made was he sent them registered delivery and declared their value, so it was a small package with a high value. Our guess is it went into a pocket at some point.”
Lost... Pendant sent to Eva Saxl, above