Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Drawing of Marie Kleinova created by Alfred Bergel when both were prisoners in Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. Alfred and his wife were deported from German annexed Vienna, to Theresienstadt in Otober 1942. Alfred was assigned to work in the drawing shop of the technical services department. When he was not doing official work, he created portraits of fellow prisoners and of daily life in the camp. On October 12, 1944, Alfred and his wife were deported Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center and murdered. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Marie was sent to Terezin from Prague in May 1942. She was still in the camp when Soviet forces arrived on May 9, 1945.
- Artwork Title
- Marie Kleinova, Terezin December 1, 1944
- Date
-
creation:
1944 October 01
- Geography
-
creation:
Theresienstadt (Concentration camp);
Terezin (Ustecky kraj, Czech Republic)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mark Talisman
- Signature
- a. front, below image, colored pencil : Terezín / 10.Ⅸ.44 / Bergel
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Marie Kleinova
Artist: Alfred Bergel
- Biography
-
Marie Kleinova was born on December 3, 1901, to Leopold and Bedrishka Dubska Klein. She was the youngest child, and may have had three sisters, Erna, Ruda, and Verushka, and a brother Rudolf. By age fifteen, she had left school and was doing office work. In March 1939, Germany annexed the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, which included Prague, which were ruled by a Reich Protector. Other regions were absorbed by German allies and Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. Jews were banned from professions and organizations and later, any economic activity. in September 1941, Heydrich, SS Chief of RSHA, became Reich Protector, and prioritized the expulsion of Jews to concentration camps. Jews were required to wear a yellow Star of David badge at all times to make them easy to ident her naaae to Klanova becaue she did not want to have a German sounding syrname.ify. Transports were announced daily in the papers. Around May 15, 1942, Marie, with the identification numbefr AU1-813, was transported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp about 30 miles north of Prague. She was in Theresienstadt when Soviet forces entered the camp on May 9, 1945. She later changed her name to Klanova because she did not want to have a German sounding surname.
Alfred Bergel was born in Olmütz, Czechoslovakia (Olomouc, Czech Republic), on January 4, 1902. He earned a medical degree in the 1920s. He was a talented artist and taught at the primary school in the Jewish community of Vienna, Austria. In March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany. Anti-Jewish legislation was enacted and the civil rights of Jews were dissolved. On October 9, 1942, Alfred and his wife were deported by the Germans to Theresienstadt concentration camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. Alfred was housed in the male artist house, where he worked for the Germans. When he was not doing official work, he created portraits of fellow prisoners and of daily life in the camp. On October 12, 1944, he and his wife were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, where they were murdered.
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Art
- Category
-
Drawings
- Object Type
-
Portrait drawing (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- a. Realistic portrait in colored pencil on paper attached to a gray paper backing (b). The image depicts the head and torso of a woman in a checker patterned sports coat, a Star of David badge on right with Jude written in the center. She has short, wavy, combed back hair, dark lined eyebrows, detailed eyes, and slightly parted lips. Detailed shading reveals her nose and smile lines. The artist’s name and date are below the image.
b. Thick, gray paper backing for drawing (a). Adhered to the front are 4 small dark gray photo corners with plastic sleeves which hold the drawing in place. There is a folded piece of paper with 3 pages of handwritten text taped to the back. - Dimensions
- a: Height: 11.750 inches (29.845 cm) | Width: 8.625 inches (21.908 cm)
b: Height: 13.750 inches (34.925 cm) | Width: 11.750 inches (29.845 cm) - Materials
- a : paper, colored pencil
b : paper, plastic, ink, adhesive tape, adhesive
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Concentration camp inmates as artists--Czech Republic--Terezin (Ustecky kraj)--Biography. Concentration camp inmates--Czech Republic--Terezín (Ustecky kraj)--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Czech Republic--Prague--Personal narratives. Women concentration camp inmates--Czech Republic--Terezín (Ustecky kraj)--Biography.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by Mark Talisman.
- 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 17:53:58
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn77205
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Also in Mark Talisman collection
The collection consists of drawings, correspondence, documents, and photographs documenting life in the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust. Some of these materials may be combined into a single collection in the future.
Date: approximately 1940-approximately 1950
Mark Talisman papers
Document
The papers consist of identification cards, postcards, letters, forms, reports, and photographs documenting life in the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust.
Charcoal drawing of bunks in a cluttered barrack room
Object
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Ink drawing of loaded wagons in a courtyard
Object
Drawing of wagons being loaded in a courtyard created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Caricature of a painter at work by a fellow inmate in Terezin
Object
Caricature of Ernest Kleina at work drawn by Anna Kampusova when both were prisoners created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Red chalk drawing of a small house amongst trees
Object
Drawing created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Watercolor of a bridge over a river water with a distant view of the Terezin tower
Object
Watercolor of a bridge over a tree lined river and a view of the Theresienstadt tower in the distance created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Watercolor of the Theresienstadt tower
Object
Watercolor of the Terezin tower created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Colored pencil drawing of a water pump in the Terezin courtyard
Object
Drawing of a water pump in the Terezin courtyard created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Pencil drawing of stone walls at Theresienstadt
Object
Drawing created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Drawing of a bridge crossing over a shaded road
Object
Drawing of a bridge over a road drawn by Anna Kampusova while imprisoned at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in 1943-1944 in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Drawing depicting a building with trees
Object
Drawing created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Paper backing for collage
Object
Pencil portait of a gardener
Object
Pencil drawing of a woman at Terezin carrying luggage on a paper backing
Object
Drawing of a woman with a knapsack and luggage marked Au - I -813 drawn by an unknown artist at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Large land ownership map of the medieval town Brandys, Czech Republic
Object
Land ownership map of the towns of Brandy's nad Labem and Hradek,s, dus, irca 1620, possibly created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Topographical map of the medieval Czech town Brandys
Object
Topographical map of the medieval Czech town Brandys, possibly created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Drawing
Object
Drawing created at Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp in German occupied Czechoslovakia. The camp opened in November 24, 1941 and was in operation about 3.5 years, until May 2, 1945. The German SS imprisoned certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews in the ghetto, including many prominent intellectual or cultural figures. There was a large Technical Department where many artists were assigned to work, creating technical drawings, maps, etc. for the camp administration. Many of them secretly created works documenting the actual overcrowded, disease ridden conditions of the camp. The works were buried or hidden behind walls and recovered postwar. Roughly 140,000 Jews were sent to Theresienstadt; nearly 90,000 were sent to camps in the east where most died, and about 33,000 perished in Theresienstadt.
Mark Talisman papers
Document
Contains numerous samples of envelopes with German stamps, from Nazi-occupied Poland. Also includes numerous collector cards depicting athletes in the 1932 Olympics, and a series of cigarette cards depicting activities of German military during World War I.
