Drawing by Hannah Messinger of a cloaked woman and child slumped on a wall
- Artwork Title
- Waiting
- Series Title
- Last Journey
- Date
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depiction:
1941-1945
creation: approximately 1970
- Geography
-
creation:
Chicago (Ill.)
- Classification
-
Art
- Category
-
Drawings
- Object Type
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Prisoners in art (lcsh)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Hannah Messinger
One of a series of pencil drawings created around 1970 by Hannah Messinger based upon her experiences as an inmate in several concentration and labor camps from 1941-1945. It depicts a cloaked woman slumped against a wall with a horribly thin child in her lap. In December 1941, Hannah, her husband Karel Kohorn, and her family were deported from German-occupied Prague to Theresienstadt labor camp. Hannah had an abortion to avoid deportation to Poland. In September 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. That January, Hannah was transferred to Sackisch and then Merzdorf forced labor camps. On May 8, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. Hannah walked to the Czechoslovak border where she collapsed; her friends took her to a hospital where she was placed in a crib because she only weighed 70 pounds and they thought she was a child. Upon her release, she returned to Prague and learned that all her family members were murdered. Hannah emigrated to the United States on December 21, 1946.
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Record last modified: 2022-06-13 15:47:14
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn43425
Also in This Collection
Drawing by Hannah Messinger of 2 women and 3 skeletal children
Object
One of a series of pencil drawings created around 1970 by Hannah Messinger based upon her experiences as an inmate in several concentration and labor camps from 1941-1945. It depicts a gaunt figure standing behind a kneeling woman and 3 children. In December 1941, Hannah, her husband Karel Kohorn, and her family were deported from German-occupied Prague to Theresienstadt labor camp. In mid-1942, Hannah had an abortion to avoid deportation to Poland. In September 1944, the family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. That January, Hannah was transferred to Sackisch and then Merzdorf forced labor camps. On May 8, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. Hannah walked to the Czechoslovak border where she collapsed; her friends took her to a hospital where she was placed in a crib because she only weighed 70 pounds and they thought she was a child. Upon her release, she returned to Prague and learned that all her family members were murdered. She evntually found relatives in Budapest and, through them, met Imre Messinger, a survivor of Soviet labor camps. Hannah emigrated to the United States on December 21, 1946, and Imre joined her in 1947.
Drawing by Hannah Messinger of an old woman comforted by woman and child
Object
One of a series of pencil drawings created around 1970 by Hannah Messinger based upon her experiences as an inmate in several concentration and labor camps from 1941-1945. It depicts a seated old woman flanked by a woman and girl. In December 1941, Hannah, her husband Karel Kohorn, and her family were deported from German-occupied Prague to Theresienstadt labor camp. Hannah had an abortion to avoid deportation to Poland. In September 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. That January, Hannah was transferred to Sackisch and then Merzdorf forced labor camps. On May 8, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. Hannah walked to the Czechoslovak border where she collapsed; her friends took her to a hospital where she was placed in a crib because she only weighed 70 pounds and they thought she was a child. Upon her release, she returned to Prague and learned that all her family members were murdered. Hannah emigrated to the United States on December 21, 1946.
Drawing by Hannah Messinger of a woman gesturing in supplication
Object
One of a series of pencil drawings created around 1970 by Hannah Messinger based upon her experiences as an inmate in several concentration and labor camps from 1941-1945. It depicts an old woman gesturing with upraised arms. In December 1941, Hannah, her husband Karel Kohorn, and her family were deported from German-occupied Prague to Theresienstadt labor camp. Hannah had an abortion to avoid deportation to Poland. In September 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. That January, Hannah was transferred to Sackisch and then Merzdorf forced labor camps. On May 8, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. Hannah walked to the Czechoslovak border where she collapsed; her friends took her to a hospital where she was placed in a crib because she only weighed 70 pounds and they thought she was a child. Upon her release, she returned to Prague and learned that all her family members were murdered. Hannah emigrated to the United States on December 21, 1946.
Drawing by Hannah Messinger of a woman with two emaciated children
Object
One of a series of pencil drawings created around 1970 by Hannah Messinger based upon her experiences as an inmate in several concentration and labor camps from 1941-1945. It depicts a woman with two emaciated children: one resting on her shoulder and a young girl reaching for her. In December 1941, Hannah, her husband Karel Kohorn, and her family were deported from German-occupied Prague to Theresienstadt labor camp. Hannah had an abortion to avoid deportation to Poland. In September 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. That January, Hannah was transferred to Sackisch and then Merzdorf forced labor camps. On May 8, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. Hannah walked to the Czechoslovak border where she collapsed; her friends took her to a hospital where she was placed in a crib because she only weighed 70 pounds and they thought she was a child. Upon her release, she returned to Prague and learned that all her family members were murdered. Hannah emigrated to the United States on December 21, 1946.
Drawing by Hannah Messinger of a woman holding 2 children on her lap
Object
One of a series of pencil drawings created around 1970 by Hannah Messinger based upon her experiences as an inmate in several concentration and labor camps from 1941-1945. It depicts a seated woman clasping two skeletal children. In December 1941, Hannah, her husband Karel Kohorn, and her family were deported from German-occupied Prague to Theresienstadt labor camp. Hannah had an abortion to avoid deportation to Poland. In September 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. That January, Hannah was transferred to Sackisch and then Merzdorf forced labor camps. On May 8, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. Hannah walked to the Czechoslovak border where she collapsed; her friends took her to a hospital where she was placed in a crib because she only weighed 70 pounds and they thought she was a child. Upon her release, she returned to Prague and learned that all her family members were murdered. Hannah emigrated to the United States on December 21, 1946.
Drawing by Hannah Messinger of a woman sitting with her hands on her head
Object
One of a series of pencil drawings created around 1970 by Hannah Messinger based upon her experiences as an inmate in several concentration and labor camps from 1941-1945. It depicts an exhausted woman with her face collapsed in her hands. In December 1941, Hannah, her husband Karel Kohorn, and her family were deported from German-occupied Prague to Theresienstadt labor camp. Hannah had an abortion to avoid deportation to Poland. In September 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. That January, Hannah was transferred to Sackisch and then Merzdorf forced labor camps. On May 8, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. Hannah walked to the Czechoslovak border where she collapsed; her friends took her to a hospital where she was placed in a crib because she only weighed 70 pounds and they thought she was a child. Upon her release, she returned to Prague and learned that all her family members were murdered. Hannah emigrated to the United States on December 21, 1946.