us-005578-irn15575
type: RecordSet
archival history: The model was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991.
biographical history: Mieczyslaw Stobierski (1914-1998) was the youngest of six children born to Jacenty (?-1925) and Marianna Stobierski, who ran an agricultural farm in Śladów, Poland. His father died when Mieczyslaw was eleven, and his mother took over management of the farm. Mieczyslaw developed his artistic talents early, exhibiting clay carvings at the Muzeum Etnograficznego w Krakowie (Ethnographic Museum of Krakow) at age thirteen. In 1931, he received a scholarship to study sculpture at the Panstwowej Szkole Sztuk Zdobniczych I Przemyslu Artystycznego w Krakowie (State School of Decorative Arts and the Artistic Industry in Krakow). As a student, Mieczyslaw was able to postpone his compulsory military service until the summer holidays. After graduating in 1937, Mieczyslaw worked with the renowned sculptor Jan Raszka and was commissioned to work on church altars and sacred art. In 1939, he was appointed to the position of Cadet in Kowel, located at the eastern border of the Second Polish Republic. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded western Poland, prompting Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Two weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland, under a nonaggression pact (the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact) with Germany. After Poland’s surrender, Mieczyslaw unsuccessfully attempted to immigrate to Romania, but was forced to return home to Sladów. There, he became involved in underground activities, illustrating publications, and copying and processing illegal documents. In 1941, he married Helena Michalik, with whom he had three sons. By the end of January 1945, Soviet forces had liberated Poland’s pre-war boundaries, and on May 9, Germany surrendered to the Soviets. After the war, Mieczyslaw settled in Krakow, about 50 kilometers south of Śladów. There, he met a former colleague, Tadeusz Myszkowskie, a former Auschwitz concentration camp prisoner who was, at the time, working at the museum established on the site of the former camp. Tadeusz took Mieczyslaw to Auschwitz…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: L-shaped, white plaster of Paris model of the Crematorium II and gas chamber at Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. The left section of the model is a long, rectangular platform with a smooth, flat top. On the left end, surrounded by guards and dogs, is a line of approximately 150 people being led down stairs and into an underground passageway. The middle section’s front is cut away to reveal the underground passage the figures are entering. The opening is filled with approximately 200 figures of men, women, and children in various stages of undress. Moving forward, the right portion of the model is a square shaped platform with a flat, smooth top and a large, T-shaped building towards the back. The front edge has been cut away to reveal hundreds of figures contained within an underground gas chamber. Standing on top of the gas chamber, on the left side, is a figure wearing a gas mask while pouring a substance into an open hatch leading to a column into the chamber. The front of the T-shaped building is cut away, revealing the interior spaces of the two floors. The attic area is an open space, while the lower rooms contain 5 large, rectangular blocks of crematorium ovens, piles of bodies, and prisoners carrying bodies on stretchers with guards looking on. The other sides of the building are closed, with the exterior visible, including multiple windows, a large loading door on the right end, and a large chimney at the back. Behind the building, is a scene depicting several guards shooting prisoners while a guard and dog look on.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
date: after 1989 June 07-before 1992 December 20
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had subject: 501
has or had subject: 499
has or had subject: 2
has or had subject: 0
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn15575
record resource extent: overall: Height: 48.000 inches (121.92 cm) | Width: 336.000 inches (853.44 cm) | Depth: 144.000 inches (365.76 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: White, plaster of Paris, 1:15 sculptural model of Crematorium II and a gas chamber at Auschwitz-Birkenau (Auschwitz II) killing center, commissioned by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and created between 1989 and 1992 by Mieczyslaw Stobierski. “Model crematorium II – Birkenau” illustrates the entire process that killed 1.1 million people at the Auschwitz camp complex. While the model is technically accurate in the architectural construction, Stobierski employed more creative interpretation with the figures. This sculpture is one of three replicas of a model he originally made in 1948, for the museum at Auschwitz (the other replicas are at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, and the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem). On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded and occupied the western half of Poland. The Soviet Union occupied the other half of Poland, until they too were invaded by Germany in June 1941. A non-Jew, Stobierski stayed in his hometown of Śladów, Poland, during the Nazi occupation and was involved in underground activities, illustrating publications, and copying and processing illegal documents. In October 1941, imprisoned forced-labors began construction of Auschwitz II, and the SS moved the killing operations there in early 1942. Four large crematoria were built between March and June 1943, and each included a disrobing area, a gas chamber, and crematory ovens. The killing operations continued until November 1944, and the SS dismantled the facilities in advance of the arrival of Soviet forces in January 1945. On June 14, 1947, a museum was opened on the site of the former Auschwitz camp and Stobierski was contracted to create a series of sculptures that illustrated the killing and mistreatment of camp prisoners. Prior to creating each sculpture, he studied documents, consulted former prisoners, listened to interrogations, and examined artifacts owned by the museum. Though constructed with a high level of accuracy, Stobierski’s primary goal…
title: Model crematorium II – Birkenau Sculptural model of gas chamber and crematorium #2 at Auschwitz-Birkenau