Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Watercolor portrait of Janina Zyzniewska preserved by her son Wieslaw and her mother Wilhemina Jezierska. The Zyzniewskis were a Catholic family from Łódź, Poland, who were active in the resistance organized to oppose the German occupation. Wieslaw and his mother Janina were arrested by the Gestapo in February 1942 for their political activities and sent to Radogoszcz prison. In October 1942, they were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, where Janina died in January 1943. Wieslaw was sent to Buchenwald in March 1943 where he was liberated by the US Army in April 1945.
- Artwork Title
- Portrait of Janina Zyzniewska
- Date
-
recovered:
after 1945 May
- Geography
-
creation:
Łódź (Poland)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Estate of Wesley Zineski
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Art
- Category
-
Paintings
- Object Type
-
Portrait painting (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- a. Small watercolor portrait of an older woman.
b-d. Wooden frame and backing removed from portait. - Dimensions
- overall: Height: 5.000 inches (12.7 cm) | Width: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm)
- Materials
- overall : paper, watercolor
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- Restrictions on use. Copyright may be retained by the Estate of Wesley Zineski.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Concentration camp inmates--Germany--Biography. Concentration camp inmates--Poland--Biography. Jews--Poland--Łódź--Biography. Political prisoners--Poland--Biography. Women concentration camp inmates--Poland--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Polish. World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--Poland--Personal narratives.
- Geographic Name
- Poland--History--Occupation, 1939-1945.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The watercolor portrait was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2014 by Marilyn Stiles on behalf of the Estate of Wesley Zineski.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 18:27:20
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn106818
Also in Zyzniewski family collection
The collection consists of a watercolor portrait, correspondence, documents, photographs, photo albums, and publications relating to the experiences of Wieslaw Zyzniewski (Wesley Zineski) and his family, Polish Catholics, originally from Łódź, before, during and after World War II, during which Wesley and his mother Janina were arrested for their political activities and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp.
Zyzniewski family papers
Document
The Zyzniewski family papers relate the experiences of the Zyzniewski family in Łódź, Poland during World War II. The Zyzniewski family was a Catholic and active in the Polish resistance. The papers contain identification documents for Zygmunt Zyzniewski, Janina Zyzniewski, and their son Wiesław Kazimierz Zyzniewski (later Wesley Zineski). The correspondence was written by Janina and Wesley during their imprisonments in Radogoszcz prison and Auschwitz concentration camp, 1942-1942. The papers also contain photographs and two photograph albums of the Zyzniewski family with unidentified friends and relatives before the war (ca. 1928-1937). The identification documents series includes a copy of birth and baptism certificate for Wiesław Kazimierz Zyzniewski, 1936; identification card issued to Zygmunt Zyzniewski, September 31, 1938; certificate of release of Wesley from prison, March 19, 1941; notification of money and items belonging to Wesley when imprisoned, September 8, 1942; Auschwitz concentration camp identification card for Wesley, December 10, 1942; death certificate issued for Janina Zyzniewski in Auschwitz concentration camp, January 23, 1943; identification card issued to Wesley at Buchenwald concentration camp, April 26, 1945; Displaced person identification card for Wesley, August 20, 1946; certificate issued in place of a baptismal certificate, February 11, 1947; documents relating to Wesley’s imprisonment in Buchenwald concentration camp, June 10, 1947; identification card issued to Wesley by the Polish Home Army, August 4, 1947; United States of America certificate of identity in lieu of passport issued to Wesley, April 3, 1947; Wesley Zyzniewski identity cards, May 5, 1947, June 17, 1948; statement regarding Wesley by Boleslaw Juchniewicz, November 22, 1949; statement regarding Wesley by Zbigniew Szmytke, November 28, 1949; United States Naturalization certificate for Wesley Cosmer Zineski, April 16, 1953; and copy of Wesley’s birth certificate, May 2, 1957. The correspondence was written by Janina Zyzniewski and Wiesław Zyzniewski while imprisoned in Radogoszcz prison in Łódź and Auschwitz concentration camp, circa 1942-1943, 1953. Janina’s letters are addressed to her mother, Wilhelmine Jezierska, and other family members and were smuggled out of the prison. Her letters discuss fellow prisoners, her experiences in prison, and instructs her son about daily chores. One of her undated letters reveal she is aware of Wiesław’s imprisonment. The photographs of the Zyzniewski family including Zygmunt Zyzniewski, Janina Zyzniewski, Wesley Zyzniewski, and Wesley’s unnamed older brother, as well as various friends and family members. An untitled photograph album, 1928-1929, contains photographs of the Zyzniewski family before the war in Poland. The album includes photographs of the children playing, riding bikes, sledding in the snow; the family posing in front of a windmill and an automobile; a wedding; and scenes of Ciechocinek, Poland. An untitled photograph album, 1930-1937 also includes photographs of the Zyzniewski family at the summer resort in Rochna, Poland; the children swimming, hunting, rowing, sailing, and fishing; the family out in the snow during the winter 1934; one of the boys wearing his first student’s hat; a portrait of one of the boys taken for his first communion; a road trip to Czechoslovakia; and portraits of various family members.
Certificate of Citizenship document holder
Object
United States Certificate of Naturalization document holder. The certificate was issued to Wesley Cosimer Zineski in 1953. The holder is part of a collection documenting the experiences of the Zyzniewski family before, during and after WWII. The Zyzniewskis were a Catholic family from Łódź who were active in the resistance. Wieslaw Zyzniewski (later Wesley Zineski) and his mother Janina were arrested by the Gestapo in February 1942 for their political activities and first sent to Radgoszcz. In October 1942 they were sent to Auschwitz, where Janina died in January 1943. Wieslaw was sent to Buchenwald in March 1943 where he was liberated by the US Army in April 1945.
Pamphlet
Object
Missal with a holy card and identity card inserted between the pages that belonged to Wieslaw Zizniewski. The Zyzniewskis were a Catholic family from Łódź, Poland, who were active in the resistance organized to oppose the German occupation. Wieslaw and his mother Janina were arrested by the Gestapo in February 1942 for their political activities and sent to Radogoszcz prison. In October 1942, they were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, where Janina died in January 1943. Wieslaw was sent to Buchenwald in March 1943 where he was liberated by the US Army in April 1945.
Pamphlet
Object
Inscribed Cathlic missal with holy cards and documents inserted between the pages that belonged to Wieslaw Zizniewski. The Zyzniewskis were a Catholic family from Łódź, Poland, who were active in the resistance organized to oppose the German occupation. Wieslaw and his mother Janina were arrested by the Gestapo in February 1942 for their political activities and sent to Radogoszcz prison. In October 1942, they were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, where Janina died in January 1943. Wieslaw was sent to Buchenwald in March 1943 where he was liberated by the US Army in April 1945.
