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Etching by Walter Spitzer of a group of concentration camp inmates listening to a speaker

Object | Accession Number: 2008.340.7

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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Intaglio etched print created by Walter Spitzer based upon his experiences as an inmate in Blechhammer and Buchenwald concentration camps from 1943-1945. Following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Walter fled with his family from Cieszyn (Województwo Śląskie). In 1940, his brother, Harry, was taken away by German soldiers and his father, Samuel, died after surgery. In June 1943, he and his mother, Gretta, were deported to Blechhammer labor camp where they were separated. Walter was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, then Buchenwald, where the 17 year-old Spitzer began documenting camp life. He promised a fellow inmate to tell with his pencils all that he saw in the camps. Walter's family did not survive the war and he settled in France. He became a professional artist, creating an eloquent artistic record of the Shoah. Spitzer did the original drawings for this print set in 1945, following his liberation by US troops while on a death march. This print is part of a set of nine, number 6 of 30, created postwar. Many of the drawings feature inmates referred to as Muselmann by the other prisoners, who avoided them. These are prisoners who are near death due to exhaustion, illness, starvation, or hopelessness. This print depicts a group of emaciated prisoners listening to another inmate speak.
    Artwork Title
    SURVIVE AND TELL
    Date
    depiction:  1943 June-1945 April
    creation:  1955
    Geography
    depiction: Buchenwald (Concentration camp); Weimar (Thuringia, Germany)
    creation: Paris (France)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Walter Spitzer
    Signature
    front, under right corner of image, pencil : W. Spitzer
    Contributor
    Artist: Walter Spitzer
    Subject: Walter Spitzer
    Biography
    Walter Spitzer was born on June 14, 1927, in the Czech-Polish border town of Cieszyn (Województwo Śląskie), Poland, to Grete Weiss and Samuel Spitzer. He had a brother, Harry. It was a pleasant, upper middle class existence and Walter’s artistic talent was noticed early. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. In 1940, his brother was taken away by German soldiers. Shortly after, his father died from complications after surgery. Soon after, all the Jews of Cieszyn were banished from their homes. Walter, age 13, and his mother sought refuge in Strzemieszyce, near Sosnowiec and Bedzin in southwest Poland. Conditions were believed to be better there; the ghetto was open and the Jewish Council was extremely organized. Walter was able to support them by working as a photographer and as a welder at the Eisenwerke (Steel Factory). But in June 1943, the Jews were expelled from Strzemieszyce and transported to Blechhammer labor camp. Walter was separated from his mother and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he was tattooed with the number, 178489. In January 1945, Walter was forced on a death march to Gross-Rosen, from where he was taken to Buchenwald by train and assigned the number, 124465. In his autobiography, Spitzer relates a promise that he made to the German political prisoner in charge of his barracks. This man told Spitzer that he would keep him off the next transport lists, if he promised to tell with his pencils all that he saw in the camps. While at Buchenwald, Walter made portraits and drawings which he bartered for bread. He also did clandestine drawings of forced labor. Most of his camp drawings were lost when the camp was liquidated. The inmates were forced on a death march to Sylésie in February, then to Gera, a Buchenwald subcamp. While on the forced march to Gera, in April 1945, Spitzer was liberated by the United States Army. In May, he was transported to Austria, where he was taken in by the 3256 Signal Service Company of the United States Armed Forces and worked as an interpreter.

    On June 20, 1945, Spitzer departed for Paris. He received formal training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and became a renowned painter, lithographer, and illustrator in Paris. Among his most celebrated works are a cycle of lithographs to accompany the fiction of Jean Paul Sartre, including his trilogy about the war years, as well as artwork for several novels by Andre Malraux. Through his art, Spitzer has been a compelling and eloquent witness to the Shoah and other horrors of the 20th century. He published his autobiography, Sauvé par le dessin: Buchenwald, [Saved by Drawing, Buchenwald], forward by Elie Wiesel, in 2004.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Classification
    Art
    Category
    Prints
    Object Type
    Etching (lcsh)
    Physical Description
    Etched print in black ink on rectangular white paper. It presents an image of a group of men in prison garb gathered to listen ot a speaker. There are two dead male figures on the ground and one person is throwing a blanket over them, while 2 other men look on. In the background, 2 men are carrying a dead body on a stretcher. One person sits on the ground with one hand raised, while 5 people listen from various positions: three are standing, one sitting, and one is laying down. In In the background are barracks and guard towers.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 12.750 inches (32.385 cm) | Width: 19.250 inches (48.895 cm)
    pictorial area: Height: 6.875 inches (17.463 cm) | Width: 11.125 inches (28.258 cm)
    Materials
    overall : paper, ink, graphite
    Inscription
    front lower right corner, pencil: 6/30
    front center, below image, pencil : SURVIVE AND TELL

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    Restrictions on use. Donor retains copyright for this collection.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Personal Name
    Spitzer, W. (Walter)

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The etching was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2008 by Walter Spitzer.
    Record last modified:
    2022-07-28 18:26:11
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn37594

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