us-005578-irn42320-irn42954
type: RecordSet
archival history: The photocopy of an autobiographical drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Peretz Chorshati.
biographical history: Pavel Szenwald was born on December 28, 1920, in Warsaw, Poland. He was a student at the Technical College in Warsaw when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. A few months later, he was imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto and in March 1941 was transported to the Nedev labor camp; he escaped and returned to the ghetto. In 1942, Pavel used forged Polish papers obtained by his father and escaped the ghetto. He posed as a German national, joined the German army, and served as a guard at a prisoner of war camp for Soviet prisoners. Believing his identity was about to be revealed, he fled his post in March 1943 and traveled over 600 miles to the Lida ghetto in Poland (Belarus). He escaped in April to the forest in Belarus and joined the Bielski partisans as a machine gunner and saboteur. In December, the group established a permanent base in the Naliboki forest which was under the administration of a Soviet partisan group led by General Chernyshev. The Bielski group established a relationship with the Soviet partisans who provided them with weapons. In July 1944, the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army; Pavel and his battalion fought alongside the Soviets. After the war in Europe ended on May 7, 1945, Pavel was drafted into the Soviet Army. Pavel returned to Warsaw in August 1945. He stayed at an army barracks and searched the ghetto ruins for surviving relatives but found none. Not wanting to return to his Russian army unit, Pavel decided to go to Palestine. In October 1945, he joined Beitar, a right wing Zionist group which was involved in illegal immigration and military activities. He gave up his papers, uniform, and weapons in exchange for ragged clothing and forged papers declaring him a Greek refugee. In November 1945, he crossed the border into Czechoslovakia with other Poles. They stayed in a safe house in Prague and were forbidden to leave, but Pavel heard that he could get cakes in town and left. He stopped to ask directions and was arrested. His iden…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Black and white photocopy of an ink drawing on white rectangular paper depicting a bedroom with female undergarments hanging from a standing clothes rack and high heeled shoes on the floor in the foreground. In the center, 3 men lay in a large, ornate bed; a fourth sits on the edge, with 1 shoe off. A fringed area rug and chamber pot are on the floor. A painting of a nude woman hangs above the bed; 2 pairs of boots are at the foot. In the left background is a mirrored dresser. A paragraph length artist’s caption in Hebrew, dates, and the artist’s name are on the front. There is a number covered with correction fluid and 2 punched holes at the top center. There is a light brown stain on the front. On the reverse is a piece of aged, yellowed, adhesive tape. front, lower left, black ink, photocopied : Hebrew text [On the way to Palestine. We were transported by the soldiers of the Brigade from Germany to Marseilles in France. It was decided that we should sleep in the city of Lyon where our escorts took hotel rooms. We, the Maapilim, were divided into rooms - four per room. No one realized that the hotel had been used as a whore house. The “girls” were evacuated from the hotel, but it was difficult to fall asleep in the huge bed which had special springs.] / June 46 front, lower left, pencil : 13
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1994, 1946 June
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: heb
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn42954
is or was included in: us-005578-irn42320
record resource extent: overall: Height: 8.000 inches (20.32 cm) | Width: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Photocopy of a drawing from a series of 19 captioned, narrative illustrations created by Peretz Chorshati (born Pavel Szenwald) between 1994-1997 about his wartime experiences. It depicts Pavel and 3 men sharing a hotel room in June 1946 in Lyon, France, on their way to board a ship for Palestine. Pavel was an 18 year old student in Warsaw when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. He was imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto until his father got him forged papers and he escaped. He posed as a German national, and joined the German army. In March 1943, Pavel deserted the German army and joined the Bielski partisan group. After the war ended on May 7, 1945, Pavel returned to Warsaw and joined Beitar, a right wing Zionist group. In June 1946, he illegally emigrated to British ruled Palestine.
title: Photocopy of an autobiographical ink drawing of 3 men sharing a bed as a fourth removes his shoes