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Pictorial report of concentration camps acquired postwar by a former Polish Jewish prisoner

Object | Accession Number: 1995.57.4

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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    A copy of the “KZ: Bildbericht aus fünf Konzentrationslagern” [KZ: Pictorial report of five concentration camps,] owned by Jakob Lewkowicz, who spent several years as a concentration camp prisoner. It was published soon after the war by the American War Information Office to increase awareness of the atrocities that had occurred. It contains post-liberation photographs at Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen, Nordhausen, and Ohrdruf concentration camps and the site of the Gardelagen massacre. Jakob’s name and those of others, likely his relatives, are inscribed within. Before the Holocaust, Jakob lived with his parents in Będzin, Poland. The German army entered their town on September 4, 1939, three days after the invasion of Poland. At the beginning of 1940, Jakob started working for the city administration. Jakob was sent to St. Annaberg (Góra Świętej Anny), Poland, at the end of 1942, where he was registered as a forced laborer. In early 1943, Jakob was sent to Blechhammer forced labor camp in Blechhammer (now Blachownia Slaska), German-occupied Poland. Jakob was still at Blechhammer in spring 1944 when it became a subcamp of Auschwitz III (Buna-Monowitz) concentration camp. On January 21, 1945, the camp was evacuated, and Jakob was sent on a forced march to Gross-Rosen concentration camp, and later transported to Buchenwald and Schörzingen concentration camps in Germany. In mid-April, he was forced to march toward Dachau concentration camp. On April 22, while marching, Jakob was liberated by American soldiers. After the war, Jakob spent time in Saulgau and Rastatt displaced persons camps near Baden, Germany. Jakob sailed to the United States on January 19, 1950.
    Title
    KZ: Bildbericht aus fünf Konzentrationslagern.
    Alternate Title
    KZ: Pictorial report of five concentration camps.
    Date
    publication/distribution:  1945
    received:  approximately 1945
    Geography
    publication: Germany
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Jakob Lewkowicz
    Markings
    interior, printed, black ink : KZ / herausgegeben vom amerikanischen Kriegs Informationsamt on auftrag des oberbefehlshabers der alliierten streitkrafte [KZ / published by the American War Information Office on behalf of the commander in chief of the allied armed forces]
    Contributor
    Publisher: United States Office of War Information
    Publisher: Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers
    Subject: Jakob L. Lewkowicz
    Biography
    The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was created on June 13, 1942, to centralize and control the content and production of government information and propaganda about the war. It coordinated the release of war news for domestic use, and using posters along with radio broadcasts, worked to promote patriotism, warn about foreign spies, and recruit women into war work. The office also established an overseas branch, which launched a large-scale information and propaganda campaign abroad. The government appealed to the public through popular culture and more than a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. Victory in Europe was declared on May 8, 1945, and in Japan on September 2, 1945. The OWI ceased operation in September.
    Jakob Lajb Lewkowicz (1922-1996) was born in Będzin, Poland, to Judka (1885-?) and Adele (or Idla) Poremba Lewkowicz. Judka worked as a tailor. While Jakob was growing up, Będzin was home to a large Jewish community. In 1931, the Jewish population numbered 21,625, roughly half of the town’s total population. There were several hundred Jewish-owned factories and workshops, a Jewish press, and primary and secondary schools where lessons were taught in Yiddish and Hebrew. After finishing school, Jakob became a tailor like his father.

    On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and the army entered Będzin, known by the Germans as Bendsburg, on September 4. On the night of September 8, soldiers burned the Great Synagogue of Będzin, killing over 200 Jews praying within, as well as roughly 50 Jewish houses surrounding the synagogue. Many Jewish residents were also killed by firing squads as they tried to escape or rescue the Torah and other religious books. The physical attacks were followed by repressive economic legislation requiring the Jewish population to relinquish their businesses and personal property. At the beginning of 1940, Jakob started working, without payment, for the city administration in Będzin. In the middle of 1940, Jewish families were systematically removed from houses in the center of the city, and forced to find apartments in a four-block area that served as an open ghetto. In November 1940, the first deportations from Będzin began when all Jews who were not working in local workshops, or for the Jewish council, were required to appear before a medical commission for selection to labor camps. All of the Jews in Regierungsbezirk Kattowitz region, or East Upper Silesia, which included Będzin, were placed at the disposal of the Organization Schmelt run by SS-Oberfuehrer Albrecht Schmelt. The Organization was an extensive program of forced labor that had begun establishing camps for Jews earlier that year. Since Jakob was likely working in a municipal position, he was exempt from these deportations.

    In fall 1942, German authorities began preparations to close-off the ghetto, and deported the able-bodied to labor camps. At the end of 1942, Jakob was sent to St. Annaberg (Góra Świętej Anny), Poland, which became the headquarters for Organization Schmelt. Jakob was registered for forced labor and became part of the Reichsarbeitsdienst [National Labor Service]. He was housed in one of 30 forced labor camps in the region carrying out road construction projects. Beginning in 1943, in conjunction with the execution of the Nazi’s “Final Solution,” the most critical of the Organization-managed forced labor camps were converted into concentration camps. The other camps were closed, and those prisoners, including Jakob, were transported to existing concentration camps outside of Organization control. Jakob was sent to Blechhammer forced labor camp in Blechhammer (now Blachownia Slaska), German-occupied Poland. The camp was originally constructed in 1942, in order to supply workers for the Oberschlesische Hydriewerke AG (Upper Silesia Hydrogenation Works). Jakob was still there when it became a subcamp of Auschwitz III (Buna-Monowitz) concentration camp in spring 1944. He was assigned prisoner number A-17488 and a striped concentration camp uniform. The subcamp continued to provide workers for the Oberschlesische Hydriewerke AG. Large portions of this facility were destroyed on September 9, 1944, by American bombers.

    On January 21, 1945, the camp was evacuated and Jakob was sent on a 13-day forced march to Gross-Rosen concentration camp. The Soviet Army advanced on the camp, and five days after arriving, Jakob was transferred by train to Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. On February 10, Jakob arrived at Buchenwald, where he was assigned prisoner number 130322. From March 9-11, 1945, Jakob was transported to Schörzingen concentration camp, one of the Wüste complex of subcamps in the Natzweiler concentration camp system. The main Natzweiler camp located in German-occupied France had been abandoned in September 1944, but its subcamps continued to operate. The Wüste subcamps were part of Unternehmen Wüste [Operation Desert], which was a German fuel project to extract oil from Württemberg shale in the Zollernalb district of Germany. In mid-April 1945, the Wüste camps were all evacuated, and Jakob was sent on a forced march south toward Dachau concentration camp. On April 22, before reaching Dachau, Jakob was liberated by American soldiers. Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.

    After the war, Jakob spent time in a few displaced persons (DP) camps in the French-occupied zone of Germany. He began at the Saulgau DP camp near Baden-Württemberg. This camp was founded by survivors from a subcamp of Dachau. By January 1946, the small community of survivors was living in confiscated or rented apartments and houses throughout the city, and in nearby towns. Jakob likely lived in the town of Ennetach. The camp community was supplied by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Organization (UNRRA) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (Joint). Beginning in fall 1947, the camp at Saulgau was dissolved, and individuals were sent to larger camps in the area. By March 1949, Jakob was at the Rastatt DP camp near Baden-Baden, Germany. On January 4, 1950, he left Rastatt for Bremen, then to Bremerhaven, where he boarded the USAT General Greeley on January 19. He arrived in New York City on February 2. Jakob settled in the Bronx, and his sponsors helped him secure a job washing dishes at a restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He commuted there daily using public transportation. Jakob applied for citizenship in April 1955. That same year, he married Maria Konig (1931-2019), whom he had met while still living in French-run DP camps. The couple had two children. Later, Jakob found a job as a tailor and the family eventually relocated to Freehold, New Jersey.

    Physical Details

    Language
    German
    Object Type
    Pamphlets (lcsh)
    Genre/Form
    Pamphlets.
    Physical Description
    Booklet; 28 unnumbered pgs.; ill.; 25 cm.
    The booklet is printed in black ink on off-white paper. There are penciled inscriptions recorded within, and several have been erased or scratched-out. The booklet is extremely worn with water damage and torn, detached, or missing pages.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 9.875 inches (25.083 cm)
    Materials
    overall : paper, ink, pencil
    Inscription
    near back cover, handwritten, pencil : JAKOB LEWKOWICZ / SOSNOWICE BEDZIN / Ma[?]nawska / 125 Burg Str 12 [illegible]
    inside, Belsen section, handwritten, pencil : DL DZ Lewcz [illegible] / Gucia Lewko(?] [illegible]
    inside, Ohdruf section, handwritten, pencil : GERTRUD LEWKOWICZ

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The pamphlet was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1995 by Jakob Lewkowicz.
    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:
    2024-10-03 11:29:42
    This page:
    http:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn9870

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