Pencil drawing of a woman at Terezin carrying luggage on a paper backing
Extent and Medium
a: Height: 8.250 inches (20.955 cm) | Width: 11.625 inches (29.528 cm)
b: Height: 4.125 inches (10.477 cm) | Width: 5.875 inches (14.923 cm)
c: Height: 11.875 inches (30.163 cm) | Width: 13.875 inches (35.243 cm)
Archival History
The drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by Mark Talisman.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mark Talisman
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Drawing of a woman with a knapsack and luggage marked Au - I -813 drawn by an unknown artist at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
a. Drawing in pnecil on paper taped to (c) with an image of a woman in right profile, her hair pulled back, in long sleeves, a skirt, and heeled shoes. She is walking and carrying a large suitcase with clothes hanging over the handle and large bags in each hand. She has a large knapsack on her back with a rolled blanket on top. The transport number Au 1 - 813 is written on the knapsack, blanket, and luggage. b. Piece of paper taped to (c). c. Thick, gray paper backing for drawing (a). with photo corners on the front and (b) taped to the back.
a. front, pencil : 1943 - / Terezín / 1945. b. front, cursive, blue ink : Takto vybavena kräčela jsem / v prěstupní stanící do ne- / znàma, v veletržnímu palàcí. / Vesla jsem celkem povolených / 25 kg potravín v šatstve [Thus equipped I walked to the transfer station into the unknown, the Trade Fair Palace. I walked being allowed a total of 25 kg of food and clothing]
Subjects
- Concentration camp inmates--Pictorial works.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in art.
- World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Czech Republic--Pictorial works.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Czech Republic--Terezin (Ustecky kraj)--Pictorial works.
- Concentration camp inmates as artists--Czech Republic--Terezin (Ustecky kraj)
Genre
- Art
- Object