Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Trapezoidal drawing, one part of a set of seven watercolor and ink drawings created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei") depicting named concentration camps and commemorative elements that include prisoner numbers and symbols. Specific camps, Auschwitz-Monowitz, Birkenau, and Gross Rosen, are named and depicted as large scenes on several drawings. Each of the drawings has a line of small, evenly spaced holes punched around the entire border of the paper, which were likely used to connect the pieces or panels to each other and form a lampshade. This panel depicts the hanging of a prisoner in the camp yard at Auschwitz-Monowitz concentration camp at night. It is marked with the number “1” on the back, which corresponds to the missing number on the back of the hexagonal panel. This alignment suggests that it was meant to be the first panel attached to shade for display.
- Date
-
creation:
after 1945 April
- Geography
-
depiction:
Oświęcim (Poland)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Giselle Brodsky and Mery Rosendorn-Gross
- Markings
- front, bottom right, handwritten, black ink : AUSCHWITZ-MONOWITZ
- Signature
- front, bottom right, within image, handwritten, black ink : PREI
- Contributor
-
Artist:
Walter Peiser-Preisser
Subject: Walter Peiser-Preisser
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Art
- Category
-
Drawings
- Object Type
-
Color drawing (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Watercolors.
- Physical Description
- Trapezoidal, watercolor and ink drawing on thick, tan-colored, varnished paper depicting the hanging of a prisoner in the concentration camp yard at night. The gallows is set up at one end of a barracks building and is loosely ringed by uniformed soldiers. A unit of additional soldiers is lined up to the left of the gallows, while a large group of prisoners in striped uniforms is lined up across the yard, facing the gallows. Another barracks is visible beside the first, and the high camp fence and flood lights are visible beneath a dark, starry sky in the background. The name of the camp is written in the lower right corner, and the artist’s signature is visible just above it. A line of small, circular holes are evenly spaced along all four sides. On the back, a small pencil number is handwritten in the top section. The paper is heavily worn from use, with a large diagonal crease through the center. There are a number of tears and a loss in the lower left corner.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 12.250 inches (31.115 cm) | Width: 10.000 inches (25.4 cm)
- Materials
- overall : paper, ink, watercolor, varnish, pencil
- Inscription
- back, top, handwritten, pencil: 1
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Geographic Name
- Germany Poland Oświęcim (Poland)
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by Giselle Brodsky and Mery Gross, the daughters of Salek Rosendorn.
- Record last modified:
- 2025-06-06 12:40:03
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/bookmarks/irn714878
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Also in Walter Peiser artwork collection
The collection consists of artwork created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei"). One woodcut print that is part of a series of 12, created in the Neustadt/Holstein DP camp, circa 1946. Seven prints (one hexagon and six trapezoids) depicting scenes from multiple concentration camps including Auschwitz-Monowitz, Birkenau, Gross Rosen, and general scenes of commemoration that include names of camps, prisoner numbers and markings, with small holes punched around the entire border of each page.
Date: approximately 1946
Woodcut print depicting a prisoner beside a concentration camp fence
Object
Woodcut print depicting a man's head and shoulders in the foreground and a concentration camp fence in the background. The print was created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei"). It was originally part of a series of twelve prints that were created in the Neustadt/Holstein displaced persons camp in 1946.
Drawing of concentration camp-related symbols on the top panel of a lampshade
Object
Hexagonal drawing, one part of a set of seven watercolor and ink drawings created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei") depicting named concentration camps and commemorative elements that include prisoner numbers and symbols. Specific camps, Auschwitz-Monowitz, Birkenau, and Gross Rosen, are named and depicted as large scenes on several drawings. Each of the drawings has a line of small, evenly spaced holes punched around the entire border of the paper, which were likely used to connect the pieces or panels to each other and form a lampshade. This hexagonal panel depicts a number of symbols and serves as the top of the shade. It is marked with small numbers on the back, which correspond to small numbers on the back of the other, trapezoidal drawings. This alignment suggests there was a designated order in which to assemble and display the shade.
Drawing of concentration camp that also names many others on a lampshade panel
Object
Trapezoidal drawing, one part of a set of seven watercolor and ink drawings created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei") depicting named concentration camps and commemorative elements that include prisoner numbers and symbols. Specific camps, Auschwitz-Monowitz, Birkenau, and Gross Rosen, are named and depicted as large scenes on several drawings. Each of the drawings has a line of small, evenly spaced holes punched around the entire border of the paper, which were likely used to connect the pieces or panels to each other and form a lampshade. This panel depicts a generic image of barracks buildings and crematorium smoke stacks, as well as the names of 12 different concentration camps. It is marked with the number “4” on the back, which corresponds to that number on the back of the hexagonal panel. This alignment suggests that it was meant to be the fourth panel attached to shade for display.
Drawing of an arm tattooed with a prisoner number and prisoner patches on a lampshade panel
Object
Trapezoidal drawing, one part of a set of seven watercolor and ink drawings created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei") depicting named concentration camps and commemorative elements that include prisoner numbers and symbols. Specific camps, Auschwitz-Monowitz, Birkenau, and Gross Rosen, are named and depicted as large scenes on several drawings. Each of the drawings has a line of small, evenly spaced holes punched around the entire border of the paper, which were likely used to connect the pieces or panels to each other and form a lampshade. This panel depicts a prisoner’s tattooed arm bearing an ID number surrounded by prisoner patches. It is marked with the number “2” on the back, which corresponds to that number on the back of the hexagonal panel. This alignment suggests that it was meant to be the second panel attached to shade for display.
Drawing of a murdered inmate by a concentration camp fence on a lampshade panel
Object
Trapezoidal drawing, one part of a set of seven watercolor and ink drawings created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei") depicting named concentration camps and commemorative elements that include prisoner numbers and symbols. Specific camps, Auschwitz-Monowitz, Birkenau, and Gross Rosen, are named and depicted as large scenes on several drawings. Each of the drawings has a line of small, evenly spaced holes punched around the entire border of the paper, which were likely used to connect the pieces or panels to each other and form a lampshade. This panel depicts a slain prisoner lying beside the camp fence at Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center at night. It is marked with the number “5” on the back, which corresponds to that number on the back of the hexagonal panel. This alignment suggests that it was meant to be the fifth panel attached to shade for display.
Drawing of concentration camp inmates during roll on a lampshade panel
Object
Trapezoidal drawing, one part of a set of seven watercolor and ink drawings created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei") depicting named concentration camps and commemorative elements that include prisoner numbers and symbols. Specific camps, Auschwitz-Monowitz, Birkenau, and Gross Rosen, are named and depicted as large scenes on several drawings. Each of the drawings has a line of small, evenly spaced holes punched around the entire border of the paper, which were likely used to connect the pieces or panels to each other and form a lampshade. This panel depicts a group of concentration camp prisoners during roll call at Gross-Rosen concentration camp. It is marked with the number “3” on the back, which corresponds to that number on the back of the hexagonal panel. This alignment suggests that it was meant to be the third panel attached to shade for display.
Drawing of concentration camp inmates working in a quarry on a lampshade panel
Object
Trapezoidal drawing, one part of a set of seven watercolor and ink drawings created by Walter Peiser-Preisser ("Prei") depicting named concentration camps and commemorative elements that include prisoner numbers and symbols. Specific camps, Auschwitz-Monowitz, Birkenau, and Gross Rosen, are named and depicted as large scenes on several drawings. Each of the drawings has a line of small, evenly spaced holes punched around the entire border of the paper, which were likely used to connect the pieces or panels to each other and form a lampshade. This panel depicts a group of concentration camp prisoners working in a stone quarry Gross-Rosen concentration camp. It is marked with the number “6” on the back, which corresponds to that number on the back of the hexagonal panel. This alignment suggests that it was meant to be the sixth panel attached to shade for display.
