After the Second World War, caches of Jewish cultural and religious property stolen by the Nazis were recovered by the US military.

In 1947, an organisation called Jewish Cultural Reconstruction, headed by prominent Jewish historian Salo Baron, was formed to return looted goods to their original owners. Where this was not possible because the owners had perished in the Shoah, the goods were distributed to Jewish organisations around the world.

Among the artifacts were 199 silver Yadayim, originally from synagogues in Poland. One of those Yadayim found its way to Bet Memorah in Pretoria, where it is kept in the Ark with the Sifrei Torah.