Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Drawing by 17 year old Ilie Wacs of a man modeling a suit, based on the tailoring patterns of his father, Moritz. Ilie’s family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but Ilie’s family survived the war. With the assistance of the American Joint Distribution Committee, a Jewish aid organization, Ilie received a scholarship to study art in Paris.
- Artwork Title
- Double Breasted Men's Suit
- Date
-
creation:
1943-1945
- Geography
-
creation:
Shanghai (China)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ilie Wacs
- Signature
- front, bottom right, pencil : WACS
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Ilie Wacs
Artist: Ilie Wacs
- Biography
-
Ilie Wacs was born in Vienna, Austria, on December 11, 1927, to Moritz and Henia Fach. Moritz was originally from Romania and had been a prisoner of war in World War I who stayed in Austria when the war ended. However, he was not an Austrian citizen. He and Henia were married by a rabbi, but the marriage was not recognized by the Austrian government, and Ilie's birth name was officially Ilie Fach. His mother was from an orthodox Jewish family from Poland, and though his family was not especially religious, she kept a kosher home. A sister, Deborah, was born in 1935. Moritz was a men’s custom tailor with a very successful business. The Austrian population was primarily Catholic and anti-Semitism was common. Ilie was one of only 5 Jewish boys in his class at the public school he attended. During morning prayers, they had to wait outside the classroom and on the way home from school, Ilie and the other Jewish boys were often attacked. Ilie recalls often feeling like an outsider and asking his family why they couldn’t leave Austria. During the Anschluss (Annexation) of Austria by Nazi Germany on March 12-13 1938, Ilie remembers hearing the marching of hobnailed boots on cobblestone streets for hours. When school reopened, the teachers wore swastika armbands, and told the students that they must now behave as if they were guests in Austria. Ilie’s parents warned him to keep quiet at school, as he could get them all trouble. Moritz's business was aryanized and turned over to his Christian head tailor, Alois, a member of the Nazi party. Alois had prior knowledge of Kristallnacht that November and was able to warn the Wacs to leave their apartment that night. Kristallnacht was especially brutal in Austria: all the synagogues in Vienna were destroyed, Jewish homes and businesses were vandalized, and 1000s of Jews were deported to Dachau and Buchenwald. Soon after this, the family decided to emigrate. They wanted to come to the United States, but since Ilie was a Romanian citizen, it was not possible to get visas. They decided to go to Shanghai, since it was an open city and required no papers. Moritz’s brother in Romania paid for their passage, since only US dollars were accepted and Moritz could not get these in Austria. They sailed from Genoa, Italy, on the Conte Bianca Mano, August 20, 1939, less than two weeks before the outbreak of World War II. After they arrived in Shanghai, the local Jewish community found them an apartment in Heime Hongkew and Moritz found work as a custom tailor. They had only the four suitcases they had taken in the ship; the furniture and goods they had arranged to have shipped never arrived. Ilie attended a school where he was taught English; he became more religious, studied Hebrew and was Bar Mitzvahed. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, food became extremely scarce and they pawned Henia’s jewelry for food. Ilie remembers being hungry all the time for 4 years. In 1943, the Japanese, who had occupied Shanghai since 1937 and were allied with the Germans, forced Jewish refugees into ghettos. Shanghai was heavily bombed by US forces in July 1945, and hundreds of people died in the Wacs’ neighborhood market. That August, Japan conceded defeat, although the ghetto was not officially liberated until September 2, 1945, when Chiang Kai-Shek arrived. . But before that occurred, according to Ilie “An amazing thing happened. For three or four days there was not any authority. The Japanese withdrew and nothing happened, no control.” The American Joint Distribution Committee arrived to assist Jewish refugees with relocation. As stateless refugees, the Wacs family had nowhere to go. They learned that all their family members who had remained in Europe, except for two cousins, had perished in the Holocaust; Henia’s sister in Dachau concentration camp. In 1949, Charles H. Jordan of the AJDC, offered Ilie a scholarship to attend the École des Beaux-Art in Paris for a year. With the enactment of the Displaced Persons Act in the US, Moritz, Henia, and Debra were able to emigrate to the US in 1950, where Ilie joined them. They settled in New York City. Ilie got a job as an assistant art director and eventually ran his own design firm. He married Sylvia Silverstein in 1956 and they had two daughters. Moritz passed away in 1957; Henia in 1972. In 2011, he published a memoir with his sister, Debra Strobin: An uncommon journey: from Vienna to Shanghai to America: a brother and sister escape to freedom during World War II.
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Art
- Category
-
Drawings
- Object Type
-
Fashion drawing (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Pencil drawing on thick, gray, watermarked paper, with a plastic coating over the image. It depicts a man wearing a 2-button suit and tie, walking with his left hand in his pants pocket and holding a newspaper in his right. The jacket has 2 pockets on the right hip and 1 on the left, a left breast pocket, 2 buttons on the cuffs, and large peak lapels. Artist’s signature is on the bottom right.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 14.250 inches (36.195 cm) | Width: 7.250 inches (18.415 cm)
- Materials
- overall : paper, graphite, plastic
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- Restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Ilie Wacs.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-10-03 11:26:53
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn517216
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Also in Ilie Wacs collection
The collection consists of artifacts, documents, and photographs relating to the experiences of Ilie Wacs and his family in Shanghai, China, before and during World War II. six drawings, 1 set (10 pages) of patterns, 1 book - "'ORT' SHANGHAI Course in Cutting Mens Clothing"
Date: 1943-1945
Interior of the Wacs' home in Shanghai
Object
Drawing by 18 year old Ilie Wacs of the room and window next to his father’s workspace in Shanghai, China, where he sat and sketched the activities on the street below. Ilie’s family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but Ilie’s family survived the war. With the assistance of the American Joint Distribution Committee, a Jewish aid organization, Ilie received a scholarship to study art in Paris.
Makeshift stove in the Wacs' home in Shanghai
Object
Drawing by 17 year old Ilie Wacs of the cooking stove made with a flower pot, used in his family’s home in Shanghai, China. Ilie’s family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but Ilie’s family survived the war. With the assistance of the American Joint Distribution Committee, a Jewish aid organization, Ilie received a scholarship to study art in Paris.
Street scene in Shanghai
Object
Drawing by 18 year old Ilie Wacs of the Shanghai street scene viewed from the window of his family’s apartment. Ilie’s family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but Ilie’s family survived the war. With the assistance of the American Joint Distribution Committee, a Jewish aid organization, Ilie received a scholarship to study art in Paris.
Man in overcoat carrying cane, drawn to illustrate pattern
Object
Drawing by 17 year old Ilie Wacs of a man modeling an overcoat, based on the tailoring patterns of his father, Moritz. Ilie’s family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but Ilie’s family survived the war. With the assistance of the American Joint Distribution Committee, a Jewish aid organization, Ilie received a scholarship to study art in Paris.
Man in a 3-button suit, drawn to illustrate pattern
Object
Drawing by 17 year old Ilie Wacs of a man modeling a 3-button suit, based on the tailoring pattern of his father, Moritz. Ilie’s family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but Ilie’s family survived the war. With the assistance of the American Joint Distribution Committee, a Jewish aid organization, Ilie received a scholarship to study art in Paris.
Set of 10 patterns for menswear
Object
Group of men’s clothing patterns created by Moritz Wacs for his tailor’s shop in Shanghai. The Wacs family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but Ilie’s family survived the war.
ORT Shanghai Course in Cutting Men's Clothing by M. Wacs
Object
Book of menswear patterns created by Moritz Wacs in Shanghai. Moritz Wacs was able to re-establish a tailoring business in Shanghai after he arrived there as a refugee from Nazi tyranny. He created this pattern book as a training manual. The Wacs family left Vienna for Shanghai soon after Kristallnacht in November, 1938. Nazi Germany had annexed Austria in March 1938 and the persecution of Jews was increasingly violent. In 1943, the Japanese, who controlled Shanghai, forced most Jewish refugees into ghettos. Conditions were very harsh, but the family survived the war.