oha 1984

Auschwitz, 1984, drawn-on site at the death camp memorial site

Auschwitz, drawn July 29, 1984 when my classmates, our guides and I visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau death camp memorials in southwest Poland

Art: 1984
Size: 18 1/4 inches H x 14 1/8 W (unframed)
Ink, colored pencil, watercolor

The rubber stamps were added later, back  home in Seattle.The drawing and mat each have multiple images of a rubber stamp of a Star of David. The drawing includes rubber stamps of these words:

Poland / CANCELED / OFFICIALLY NOTED / ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS

ARCHITECTURAL TYPES / CITIES & TOWNS / REFERENCE COPY

PARTS / HISTORICAL / RELIGIOUS /

OVERLOOKED ANULOWANO PLEASE ATTEND TO.

The mat includes pieces of paper with the Star of David and ANULOWANO rubber stamps stamped on each piece; and pieces of mail snail envelopes mailed by the artist to the US from Krakow including 2 Polish postage stamps with a post office cancellation superimposed over the stamps; and a postal receipt with a post office cancellation superimposed.

Writing, in ink, bottom-lower left: AUSCHWITZ, 29 July 1984

Wall, gate, bricks, east barracks SEGAN

Writing at bottom center refers to an Auschwitz sent French Jewish boy, Isidore Kargeman, 10 years of age. He was born March 29, 1934, in Paris, 12th arrondissement. He was arrested at the orphanage at Izieu, eastern France; taken in convoy 71 on April 13, 1944 to the death camp at Auschwitz where he was murdered.

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The writing, lower right, includes these words, in ink:

Nom  Kargeman (translation: surname Kargeman)

Pré-nom Isidore (translation: first name Isidore)

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Below that it says (in botched French; the artist studied French in junior high and in h.s., ca. 1962-66 or ’67)

Naissance le vingt neuf mars (translation: Born the 29th of March)

mil neuf cent-trente quatre (translation: nineteen hundred thirty four).

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At lower right, the writing includes these words, in ink:

Lyons Nr (can’t make out the numbers, probably a 5 and 2 other digits)

Juedische (translation:  Jewish)

Raum fur Eingangsstempel  (room for receipt stamp)

- 7 AVR 1944  14486144

L A GEZ BARBIE SS – OSTU

(Notes by the artist, June 8, 2016: I’m not sure what the L A GEZ was to represent.

Barbie refers to Nazi Gestapo chief for Lyons, Klaus Barbie, who ordered the arrests of the Izieu pupils and teachers. In addition to Isidore, 33 other children from the orphanage were murdered on orders of the Nazi government. Six adults from Izieu were murdered. One 26 year old adult survived Auschwitz. One other adult, also 26, escaped the raid on the orphanage and survived the war.

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See Under the Wings series art portraying victims murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz
UTW 30: Rachel Cyrkin of Paris
UTW 38: Joseph Goldberg and Jacques Benguigui of the orphanage at Izieu, France
UTW 26: Giettel Laski of Warsaw, was murdered at the Majdanek death camp