be-002157-kd 00356
type: RecordSet
archival history: After the liberation of the Dossin barracks on 4 September 1944, former prisoner Irene Spicker took home multiple objects from the camp, including several of her own paintings created during her internment at the Dossin barracks and multiple items created by the deported artist Leon (Lon) Landau. In 1994-1996 Irene kindly donated these original items to the Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance, predecessor of Kazerne Dossin. In 2017-2018, Uziel Awret, son of Azriel Awret and Irene Spicker, kindly donated Irene's war-time paint box and Azriel's series of original drawings on the Holocaust to Kazerne Dossin.
biographical history: Irene Spicker was born in Berlin on 30 January 1921 as the youngest child of travelling salesman Moses Spicker (born on 31 August 1878 in Vandsburg, today Wiecbork, Poland) and his wife Margarete Zoegall (born on 26 March 1883 in Berlin). Irene had a brother named Werner and a sister named Gerda. At a young age, Irene showed artistic talent and she enrolled in an art school. However, in 1937 she was expelled as a Jewish student. In April 1939 Irene fled from Berlin to Belgium with her sister Gerda, their brother having received a visa for Latin-America. Their father Moses joined his daughters in Belgium in July 1939, their mother having passed away in 1927. Irene continued her studies at the local art school and was living in Ixelles, Brussels, when Nazi-Germany invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940. During the first war years, Irene earned a living by becoming a cleaning lady at several households and by painting scarfs. She took on the false identity of Marie-Antoinette van Crombrugghe de Loringhe, but she was arrested in November 1942 at one of the homes she cleaned. Irene was first taken to the bureau of the Sicherheitspolizei-Sicherheitsdienst at Avenue Louise in Brussels, but revealed nothing about the whereabouts of her father and sister when questioned. She was transferred to the Dossin barracks in March 1943 and her name was added to several subsequent deportation lists – transport XX, transport XXI, transport XXII A, transport XXIII – before she was finally included in the Dossin camp staff thanks to her artistic skills. Irene was assigned to the Malerstube, the group of inmates responsible for drawing the cards with deportation numbers which the inmates in the camp were forced to wear. When ordered she also painted portraits of the guards and took the opportunity to clandestinely draw portraits of inmates and scenes depicting camp life. As a member of the Malerstube, Irene met other renown artists such as Leon (Lon) Landau (born on 19 June 1919 in Antwerp, Belgi…
location of copies: A digital copy of collection KD_00356 is available at Kazerne Dossin
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Oil paintings: four oil on canvas, one oil on wood. All five paintings are undergoing restauration in 2018-2019. The portrait of baby Peter Anger (KD_00356_0001_A001232) and the puppet created by Leon (Lon) Landau (KD_00356_0001_A000090) are part of Kazerne Dossin's permanent exhibition.
publication note: AWRET Irene, They'll Have to Catch Me First: An Artist's Coming of Age in the Third Reich, Wisconsin, 2004.
related material: Other items related to Leon (Lon) Landau are part of the collection Adela Landau-Missorten. Other war-time works of art created by Irene Spicker at the Dossin barracks are stored at Beit Lohamei Haghetaot / the Ghetto Fighters' House in Israel (online access available).
conditions of access: Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
conditions of use: Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
has beginning date: 1942-01-01
has end date: 2010-12-31
has or had holder: be-002157
has or had subject: 673
has or had subject: 904
has or had subject: 505
has or had subject: 519
has record set type: Collection
identifier: KD_00356
record resource extent: 47 digitised images (7 objects, 1 photo, 38 drawings)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: This collection consists of: KD_00356_0001: Original items donated by Irene Spicker-Awret, including a war-time photo of her with friends, five oil paintings created by Irene during her internment at the Dossin barracks, a puppet and a drawing for the opera Carmen, both created by artist Leon (Lon) Landau while he was detained at the Dossin barracks. KD_00356_0002: Original items donated by Uziel Awret, son of Azriel Awret and Irene Spicker, including Irene’s war-time paint box and Azriel’s series of 37 post-war drawings on the Holocaust.
title: Awret-Spicker family. Collection