Watercolor of a gaunt, sickly woman in Gurs created by a German inmate

Gert Heinrich Wollheim was born on September 11, 1894, in Loschwitz, Germany, to Heinrich and Gertrud Gehlert Wollheim. He had two brothers: Hasso, born October 1, 1893, and Gunther, born January 8, 1896. Gert’s father Heinrich was born in 1855 to Berthold and Rosalia Werther Wollheim. Heinrich was Jewish but converted to Protestantism in 1887. Gert’s mother Gertrud was born in 1867 to Arthur and Anna Schollkopf Gehlert. The Wollheim family was wealthy. Gert’s father Heinrich was a successful machine manufacturer. Gert’s older brother Hasso was a surgeon. From 1911 to 1913, Gert studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Weimar. He was drafted as a grenadier in the German Army in World War I (1914-1918) and was wounded twice. In 1919, Gert moved to Berlin, then to Remels with his friend and fellow artist, Otto Pankok. In 1920, Gert moved to Dusseldorf, where he worked with other artists, including Pankok, Max Ernst, Otto Dix, and Karl Schwesig. Gert wrote and designed for theater, and also painted, drew, and sculpted. He joined the Junge Rhineland and Mutter Ey art groups and was active in the Aktivistenbund (Activist League), a radical group of liberal intellectuals and artists. In 1921, Gert married Leni Stein. In 1925, Gert and Leni moved to Berlin. Gert met and fell in love with Tatjana Barbakoff (1899-1944), a dancer who posed for his paintings. In 1927, Gert’s father Heinrich died.

In January 1933, Hitler came to power and, by summer, Germany was ruled by a Nazi dictatorship. Gert's friend Karl Schwesig was arrested by the Nazi regime. Gert left Leni and fled to Paris. He was reunited with Tatjana and the couple lived together. Gert was active in the Kollektive Deutscher Kunstler (Collective German Artists), which was formed in 1935. In 1937, the Nazis held the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibit in Munich, Germany, featuring three of Gert’s paintings. The Nazis saw modern art as a threat to Aryan culture and displayed confiscated modern art along with criticism intended to teach the German public to hate modern art. In the fall, Gert cofounded the Freien Deutschen Kunstlerbundes (Free German Artist’s Association) in Paris. As a protest of the Degenerate Art exhibit, they held an exhibit in November 1938, which featured Gert’s art.

On September 3, 1939, France declared war on Germany, due to the German invasion of Poland on September 1. On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded France. An armistice was signed on June 22. The northern and western regions, including Paris, were placed under the control of a German military administration, while the southern region was placed under the control of the Vichy Regime, which collaborated with the Germans. Gert was arrested and interned in a camp in Paris, then in Vierzon. While in the camp, Gert painted portraits of other inmates and the French guards. After several weeks, Gert was released and returned to Paris. In spring 1940, Gert was arrested and sent to Ruchard internment camp, in Avon-les-Roches. On November 1, Gert was transferred to Gurs internment camp, in Vichy France. Schwesig was also interned there from October 1940- February 1941. Gert worked as an artist in Gurs. On January 7, 1941, he was transferred to Septfonds internment camp, in southern France. In at least one camp, he worked as forced labor. Circa early 1943, Gert escaped to Nays in southern France, where he was reunited with Tatjana. The couple hid in the home of a peasant. Tatjana eventually fled to Nice on the coast, because it was occupied by the Italians and was known as a haven for Jews. Gert remained behind and stayed hidden in Nays until the region was liberated on August 1, 1944.

Gert returned to Paris, which was liberated on August 24. Tatjana was arrested by the Germans in Nice in January 1944, following the German occupation of Nice in September 1943. She was sent to Drancy transit camp, then to Auschwitz concentration camp, where she was killed on February 6. Gert’s mother Gertrud died in 1944. On March 11, 1947, Gert sailed from Le Havre, France, on the SS Marine Falcon, arriving in New York on March 25. He settled in New York and married Mona Loeb. He continued working as an artist. Gert, age 79, died on April 22, 1974 in New York.