Preserved in the Artifacts Collection of Yad Vashem's Museum are approximately twenty chess sets that were used by Jews during the Holocaust. Some were crafted during the war, others were made before the war and taken with Jews who were deported from their homes. Playing chess helped to alleviate the suffering of Jews and allowed them a few brief moments of relief from the hunger, the cold and the fear, temporarily easing their loneliness and sense of isolation.
![Chess set that teenager Aaron Rennert took with him when his family was deported to Transnistria Chess set that teenager Aaron Rennert took with him when his family was deported to Transnistria](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/11543_1-33D.jpg?itok=1olXAvkq)
Chess set – the only remaining item from the Rennert family home
![Chess pieces made by Yisrael & Yitzhak Roth and Aryeh Klein in the detainment camp in Cyprus Chess pieces made by Yisrael & Yitzhak Roth and Aryeh Klein in the detainment camp in Cyprus](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/1_279.jpg?itok=GnZPPHmO)
A Workshop for making chess pieces in a Detainment Camp in Cyprus
![Chess pieces that Malka Giske found after the war next to her former home in the Lodz ghetto Chess pieces that Malka Giske found after the war next to her former home in the Lodz ghetto](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/13095_E.jpg?itok=_Gl55MoI)
Chess pieces found scattered on the sidewalk next to the Giske family home in Lodz
![Chess pieces carved by Elhanan Ejbuszyc in Auschwitz-Birkenau Chess pieces carved by Elhanan Ejbuszyc in Auschwitz-Birkenau](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/2_239.jpg?itok=lXytSKav)
Chess pieces carved by Elhanan Ejbuszyc in Auschwitz from his block leader's club
![Chess set made from paper by Hermann Rautenberg in the Buchenwald camp where he was imprisoned until his execution. Chess set made from paper by Hermann Rautenberg in the Buchenwald camp where he was imprisoned until his execution.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/3756_B.jpg?itok=vznqqhZu)
Chess set made from paper in the Buchenwald camp by political prisoner Hermann Rautenberg, a Jew from Berlin
![Chess pieces that Zigmund Stern carved while in hiding in Slovakia, 1944 Chess pieces that Zigmund Stern carved while in hiding in Slovakia, 1944](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/2_260.jpg?itok=6mp52dIW)
Chess pieces that Zigmund Stern carved for his son in the family's hideout
![Chess board used by the youth Issachar Parkiet and his family in their hideout Chess board used by the youth Issachar Parkiet and his family in their hideout](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/chess-parkiet-01.jpg?itok=S1Sczue9)
Chess board used by the youth Issachar Parkiet and his family in their hideout
![Chess set that belonged to Lupu Credinciosu, who was murdered on the "Death Train" from Jassy in 1941 Chess set that belonged to Lupu Credinciosu, who was murdered on the "Death Train" from Jassy in 1941](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/15499_B.jpg?itok=fAgqxXxo)
Chess set that belonged to Lupu (Ze'ev) Credinciosu who died on the "Death Train" that left Iasi in June 1941
![Chess set carved by Julius Druckman in Obdovka Ghetto, Transnistria, 1943 Chess set carved by Julius Druckman in Obdovka Ghetto, Transnistria, 1943](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/1_276.jpg?itok=DF3fejiI)
A Chess Set from Transnistria – From Parting Gift to Reunion
![Chessboard from the notebook that Jakob Jaget used as a sketchbook while in hiding. Chessboard from the notebook that Jakob Jaget used as a sketchbook while in hiding.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/1_278.jpg?itok=kltXO72M)
Chessboard drawn by the child Kuba (Jack) Jaget while he was in hiding with his family
![Chess pieces that were made in the Friedland labor camp, Poland Chess pieces that were made in the Friedland labor camp, Poland](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/13020_A.jpg?itok=MH8UaVZD)
Chess pieces and box that Dr. Ernst Furst received in the Friedland labor camp in Poland
![Chess pieces that the Freiburg family took from home when they went into hiding. Chess pieces that the Freiburg family took from home when they went into hiding.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/1_277.jpg?itok=AjXgTXYj)
Six chess pieces from the game that the Freiburg family took into hiding
![Chess set that Chaya Stecolchic received from Leone Goldstein on their liberation from the Mogilev ghetto, Transnistria Chess set that Chaya Stecolchic received from Leone Goldstein on their liberation from the Mogilev ghetto, Transnistria](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image/public/01_695.jpg?itok=J-n_nSwP)