The story of the ring has received worldwide attention

Curators at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the former concentration and extermination camp used by the Nazis during the Holocaust, have discovered a gold ring that remained hidden in an enamel cup for more than 70 years.

The cup, which was among the more than 12,000 pieces of enamel kitchenware brought to the camp by Jewish families, had a double bottom that eroded to reveal the gold ring and a necklace. An x-ray of the mug (pictured) shows the ring and necklace nestled inside.

The gold ring and the necklance chain both have properties for gold 583, which was placed on products produced in Poland from 1921 to 1931.

‘The hiding of valuable items, repeatedly mentioned in the accounts of survivors…proves on the one hand to the awareness of the victims as to the robbery nature of the deportation, but on the other hand it shows that the Jewish families constantly had a ray of hope that these items will be required for their existence,” said museum director Piotr M. A. Cywi?ski in a statement. 

The jewelry and the double-bottom cup will remain in the museum.

(Photo courtesy of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum)

JCK