Pastel portrait of a young Polish Jewish boy

Wilhelm Wachtel was born on August 12, 1875, in Lemberg, Austria (later Lvov, Poland, now L’viv, Ukraine), to a Jewish family. He studied at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts in Galicia and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany. He had a successful career as a painter of symbolic Jewish scenes, portraits, and landscapes. His work was widely exhibited in solo shows in Warsaw and elswhere in Europe. He traveled frequently, moving between Vienna and Paris and, in 1936, settled in Palestine. On March 3, 1938, Wachtel left from Le Havre, France, on the SS President Harding for New York. He died in a car accident in the United States in either 1942 or 1952.

Jerzy (Jurek) Henryk Orlowski was born on February 24, 1931, in Warsaw, Poland, to Maximillian and Zofia Rozentzvieg Orlowski. His father was a prominent physician, born in Warsaw to Orthodox Jewish parents. His mother, a chemist, was born in 1885 in Kielce, Poland. His parents were not religious and had left-wing political views. Maximillian ran an X-ray clinic out of the family home. After Jurek’s brother, Kazimierz (Kazik), was born in 1933, the family moved to a village outside Warsaw, but when Jurek started school, they moved closer to the city. When asked by his schoolmates if he was Jewish, Jurek told them he did not know. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Maximillian, an officer in the Polish Army, was sent to the eastern front and the family learned that he was a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union. Jurek could no longer attend school and Zofia hired Miss Landau to tutor him. The family, including Jurek’s paternal grandfather and aunt Mela, moved into the clinic. The buulsing was his during an air raid. The family ran down the street, with Aunt Mela putting out fires on Kazik’s jacket. Theyk knocked on doors seeking shelter, but no one let them in. That winter, in retaliation for the murder of a German by a Jew, the Germans lined up 500 men and shot every tenth man. Jurek’s grandfather was one of those shot. Zofia told the boys and gave them his work tools. In October 1940, Zofia, the boys, their paternal aunt Stefa, and grandmother were forced into the Warsaw ghetto. Aunt Mela assumed the identity of a Catholic and lived outside the ghetto. The family lived in a bedbug infested apartment. Someone kept a cow in their courtyard and Zofia gave Jurek money to buy milk to drink, make cheese, and condition leather shoes. Zofia worked in a factory with Stefa, who also worked in a pastry shop. Jurek went to Miss Landau each morning, hiding his books under his sweater. He often saw dead bodies in the street that were gone by the afternoon. His mother packed him a sandwich daily and once a week Stefa gave him a pastry, changing the day each week to ensure his daily visit. By summer 1942, there were frequent deportations of Jews to concentration camps, but the Orlowskis were not deported because Zofia and Stefa were factory workers. During the day, Jurik and Kazik hid in a room soundproofed with pillows and quilts. in case the Lachover’s baby girl, whom they cared for, made noise. For fun, the boys went through holes in the walls of deserted apartments. They also hid in the empty rooms to escape German patrols. They had books, cards, stamps, and toy soldiers and Jurek made up stories where he pretended the war, ghetto, and Holocaust were a dream. In fall 1942, it was decided that the factory workers’ children were not allowed to stay in the ghetto. Zofia smuggled the boys into the Polish area of Warsaw. The boys soon were caught by two Germans who brought them to the ghetto wall and drew their pistols. An officer told them to send the boys to Treblinka. On the way to the train, they escaped and returned home. In late 1942, Zofia had a stroke. Jurek overheard her telling Stefa to look after her boys. In January 1943, the Germans raided the hospital and shot the patients, including Zofia. In February 1943, Stefa obtained false papers and smuggled the boys out of the ghetto. They hid in an attic room of an apartment building that belonged to a woman who owned a laundry on the ground floor. She and her children brought food and water until a neighbor snitched. While the boys were playing, a Polish official, Sergeant Zuk, came and questioned Kazik. When he couldn’t answer, the man slapped him, but left and did not turn them in. Stefa moved the boys to a village where the boys hid in the root cellar of the Mileska family. The boys shared a straw bed on the dirt floor. One night a week, they were allowed outside and they ran run around the garden and climbed trees. In July 1943, Stefa and her boyfriend came to get Jurek and Kazik, who were thin, pale, and covered in sores. As part of the Hotel Polski Affair, in which Germans sold foreign passports and papers to Jews so they could leave the country, Stefa bought false documents and had their names added to a list of Jews headed for Palestine. On July 15, Stefa, her friend, and the boys left on an unguarded train with 2700 Jews to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany where they were supposedly to wait until they could leave for Palestine. Stefa brought suitcases of food and camp conditions were pleasant. There were clubs and classes for the children and the adults held parties. Jurek and Kazik recovered in the infirmary. Within a few months, the camp was reclassified as a concentration camp and conditions deteriorated; only 350 Jews remained from the original group. Everyone was crowded into a single barracks. Food was scarce. Jurek ate potato peels and was scolded by Stefa who told him only people who were poor before the war did that and she would not allow the son of a well respected doctor to eat peels. Stefa paid Mr. Birger and his son Alex with bread each week to teach Jurek English. Jurek also started writing and reading poetry. In the spring of 1945, as Allied forces approached the camp, the Germans began evacuations. On April 7, the remaining Jews from Jurek’s group were put on a train heading east. German soldiers tossed them tin cans of jam and meat and the commanding officer said they would not be hurt. He asked for and received civilian clothes, as once they got near the front, he and the soldiers planned to desert. On April 13, the officer uncoupled the engine and abandoned the passenger cars near Fallerslaben, Germany. Soldiers from the 9th US Army appeared and handed out white bread. The survivors were brought to Hillersleben, Germany, where the soldiers gave the residents five miniutes to leave their homes to make room for the former prisoners. Hillersleben was part of the Russian zone of occupation. Jurek, Kazik, Stefa, and her friend left for Belgium where the boys were placed in a children’s home. After a few weeks, Stefa came to say good-bye before she and her friend left for South Africa. She gave them two backpacks of food and cartons of cigarettes to sell. Jurek and Kazik were sent to Paris on a children’s convoy, then to Toulon where they boarded a ship, the RMS Mataroa, that arrived five days later in Palestine. After two weeks in a transit camp, Jurek was asked which youth movement they belonged to. The boys were not connected to any and Jurek picked Gordonia because the name was similar to Gordon of Khartoum, one of the generals featured in the stories he told Kazik. They were sent to Kibbutz Ginegar. In 1946, Jurek learned that his father, Maximillian, was living in Poland. In 1954, Maximillian emigrated to Israel where he practiced medicine until his death. Kazik emigrated to the US, changed his name to Steven, married, and had two children. Jurek changed his name to Uri Orlev in 1950. He was twice married and has one child. Jurek became an award winning writer and translator.

Kazimierz (Kazik) Orlowski was born in 1933 in Warsaw, Poland. His father, Maximillian, was a prominent physician, born to Orthodox Jewish parents in Warsaw. His mother, Zofia Zelda Rozentzveig, a chemist, was born in 1885 in Kielce, Poland. Maximillian ran an X-ray clinic out of the family home. His parents were not religious and had left-wing political views. His brother, Jerzy-Henryk (Jurek), was born on February 24, 1931, in Warsaw. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Maximillian, an officer in the Polish Army, was sent to the eastern front and interned as a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union. Jurek could no longer attend school and had a tutor, but Kazik stayed in nursery school. The family, including Kazik’s paternal grandfather and aunt Mela, moved into Maximillian’s clinic. There was heavy bombing raids and during one they ran down the street as Mela put out fires on Kazik’s jacket. They wandered the streets, knocking on doors, but no one let them in. That winter, in retaliation for the murder of a German by a Jew, the Germans lined up 500 men and shot every tenth man. Kazik’s grandfather was one of those shot. Zofia told the boys and gave them his leatherworking tools. In October 1940, Zofia, the boys, their paternal aunt, Stefa, and grandmother, were forced into the Warsaw ghetto. Zofia worked in a factory with Stefa who also worked in a pastry shop. Someone kept a cow in their courtyard, so there was milk to drink and make cheese. In the summer of 1942, there were frequent deportations of Jews to concentration camps. The Orlowski family was not deported because Zofia and Stefa were factory workers. During the work day, the boys hid in an attic room soundproofed with pillows and quilts in case the Lachover’s baby girl, whom they cared for, made noise. Jurek made up stories for Kazik when he was scared. The boys would go through holes in the walls between deserted apartments to escape detection from German patrols. In fall 1942, it was decided that factory workers’ children were not allowed to stay in the ghetto. Zofia smuggled the boys into the Polish area of Warsaw, but they soon were caught by two Germans. Jurek and Kazik were brought to the ghetto wall and the Germans drew their pistols, but an officer told them to send the boys to Treblinka. On the way to the train, they escaped and returned home. In late 1942, Zofia had a stroke. In January 1943, the Germans raided the hospital and shot Zofia and the other patients. In February 1943, Stefa obtained false papers and smuggled the boys out of the ghetto. They hid in an attic room of a building owned by a woman who operated a laundry on the ground floor. She and her children brought food and water until a neighbor snitched. While the boys were playing war, a Polish official, Sergeant Zuk, came and questioned Kazik. When he couldn’t answer, the man slapped him, but then left and did not turn them in. Stefa moved the boys to a village and hid them in the root cellar of the Mileska family. The boys shared a straw bed on the dirt floor. When Mrs. Mileska cooked food, she would tell the boys to drink water if they were hungry. One night a week they were allowed outside to run around the garden and climb trees. In July 1943, Stefa and her boyfriend came to get Kazik and Jurek, who were thin, pale, and covered in sores. In what became known as the Hotel Polski Affair, in which Germans sold foreign passports and papers to Jews so they could leave the country, Stefa bought false documents and had their names added to a list of Jews headed for Palestine. On July 15, the group traveled on an unguarded train with 2700 Jews to a residence camp at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany where they were to stay until they could leave for Palestine. Stefa brought suitcases of food. Camp conditions were pleasant, with classes for the children. Kazik and Jurek recovered in the infirmary. Within a few months, conditions deteriorated as the camp was reclassified as a concentration camp; soon only 350 Jews remained from the original group. In spring 1945, as Allied forces approached Bergen-Belsen, the Germans started camp evacuations. On April 7, the remaining Jews from Kazik’s group were put on a train heading east. German soldiers tossed them tin cans of jam and meat and the German commanding officer said they would not be hurt. He asked for and received civilian clothes, and as they planned to desert. On April 13, the officer uncoupled the engine and abandoned the passenger cars near Fallerslaben, Germany. Soldiers from the 9th US Army appeared on April 17 and handed out white bread. The survivors were taken to Hillersleben where the soldiers gave the residents five minutes to leave their homes to make room for the survivors. Hillersleben was in the Soviet zone of occupation. The boys, Stefa, and her friend left for Belgium where the boys were placed in a children’s home. After a few weeks, Stefa came to say good-bye, as she and her boyfriend were emigrating to South Africa. She gave them two backpacks of food and clothes and cartons of cigarettes to sell. Kazik cried and didn’t want her to leave. The boys were sent to Paris on a children’s convoy, then to Toulon to board a ship for Palestine. The trip took five days and, upon arrival, they were placed in a transit camp. Jurek was asked to which youth movement they belonged. The boys were not connected to any organization and Jurek picked Gordonia and told Kazik it was because it was similar to Gordon of Khartoum, a general from the stories he told. They were sent to Kibbutz Ginegar. In 1946, Kazik and Jurek found out that their father, Maximillian, was living in Poland. In 1954, Maximillian emigrated to Israel and practiced medicine until his death. Jurek changed his name to Uri Orlev in 1950. He was twice married and had one child. Uri is an award winning author. Kazik emigrated to the US and changed his name to Steven. He married and had two children.

The portrait was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Uri Orlev, the brother of Steven (Kazimierz) Orlowski.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Uri Orlev

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.