be-002157-kd 00606
biographical history: Tadeusz Geisler was born in Paris on September 29, 1913 as the son of Alfred Geisler (born in 1885) and Maria Wyganowski (born in 1887). Both were artists: he was a painter, she was a writer and a pianist from a well-to-do non-Jewish family. The couple married on 7 October 1907 and travelled through Europe, settling for longer periods in cities with an artistic scene. Eldest son Alfred Angelo, known in the family as Dzidek, was born in Florence in 1908. In 1910 the Geisler family moved to Paris where Alfred studied at the School of Fine Arts, while Maria took classes at the Sorbonne. They still resided in the French capital when Tadeusz was born, but fled to Barcelona, Spain, during the First World War. After the war, they returned to their family in Poland, arriving in Warsaw in 1919 and settling in nearby Milanowek in 1920. As of 1923 Tadeusz went to school. There he discovered the violin and quickly became a prodigy. As a young adult Tadeusz was accepted into the Warsaw academy of music, and as of September 1933 he studied with Oscar Stüder in Switzerland. In Geneva Tadeusz also enrolled in a virtuosity class at the conservatory to become a soloist for large orchestras. In 1937, Tadeusz was forced to return to Warsaw to perform his military service. After his time in the army, he focused on his music. Tadeusz executed music for a film, and planned a musical tour in Poland. On September 1st, 1939 Nazi-Germany invaded Poland. Anti-Jewish decrees were installed, but since Maria was not Jewish she and her sons were not obliged to obey them. However, without a work permit it was hard for Tadeusz to make a living as a musician. In October 1940 the Jewish population of Warsaw, including father Alfred Geisler, was forced to move into the ghetto. Alfred was thus separated from his wife and sons. When Alfred’s sister Isabella and her family were deported from the ghetto to Treblinka, Alfred’s brother Wladek worked on a plan to liberate Alfred and their father Salomon alias…
scope and content: The collection contains: cutlery (spoon, fork and knife) used by Tadeusz Geisler during his internment at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp ; two strips of fabric with a red triangle, the letter P and Tadeusz Geislers prisoner number at Sachsenhausen (90175) ; three patches of cloth depicting Polish and French flags ; three small pieces of bread, saved by Tadeusz Geisler during a death march in 1945 ; a prototype of a violin bridge - the Geisler-comb - developed by Thadé Geisler; a photocopy of the patent accorded to Thadé Geisler for his violin bridge in 1966 ; three post-war photos, including a photo of Tadeusz Geisler holding a violin ; the painting"Lever du jour sur une locitaine planèt" created by Thadé Geisler in 1980 ; three CDs entitled"Thadé Geisler-Wyganowski. Interprète et compositeur. Maître, écoute mon âm" ; the book"Thadé. Une longue histoire d'amour" published by Marie-Thérèse Geisler-Thomas in 2002 ; the leaflet"Concert - Thade Geisler Wyganowsk".
record resource extent: 18 digitised images (12 objects, 3 photos, 1 document and 1 work of art)
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-terms/673
physical characteristics and technical requirements: The collection also contains: three CDs entitled"Thadé Geisler-Wyganowski. Interprète et compositeur. Maître, écoute mon âm", stored in the Kazerne Dossin audiovisual collection ; two publications - the book"Thadé. Une longue histoire d'amour" published by Marie-Thérèse Geisler-Thomas in 2002 and the leaflet"Concert - Thade Geisler Wyganowsk" – stored in the Kazerne Dossin library ; the work of art"Lever du jour sur une locitaine planèt", stored in the Kazerne Dossin art collection.
title: Tadeusz Geisler. Collection
archival history: After the war violin player Tadeusz Geisler hardly ever spoke of his experiences, but focused on his music. Nonetheless, he did save some objects dating from his time as a prisoner at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. After he passed away in 1989 Tadeusz’s widow, Marie-Thérèse Thomas, found the objects tucked away in their basement. She started researching Tadeusz’s life, using the stories told by Tadeusz’s mother Maria Wyganowski. During the research process Marie-Thérèse came in contact with Michel Lorge and his wife who helped her write Tadeusz’s memoires. Being a violin player himself Michel Lorge became acquainted with Tadeusz’s work after meeting Tadeusz’s pupil Fabien Gram and recording some of Tadeusz’s compositions with Michael Bezerki for the benefit of the Belgian anti-Cancer Foundation. Before passing away Marie-Thérèse Thomas entrusted the items that Tadeusz saved as well as several publications and documents to the Lorge-Begon family. Michel Lorge and his wife kindly donated the originals to Kazerne Dossin in 2021.
has or had some members with language: fra
has record set type: Collection
identifier: KD_00606
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/2002-12-31
type: RecordSet
publication note: GEISLER Marie-Thérèse, Thadé. Une longue histoire d'amour…, s.l., 2002.
accruals: No further accruals are to be expected.
location of copies: Digital copy available as collection KD_00606 at Kazerne Dossin
has or had holder: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/institutions/be-002157
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1940-01-01
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/be-002157-kd_00606/acquisitions/1
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-terms/496
conditions of use: Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
conditions of access: Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-terms/904