us-005578-irn42763
has or had some members with language: deu
biographical history: Jerzy Zielezinski was born on March 28, 1914, in Lowicz, Poland, to Catholic parents, Josepha and Stanislau Zielezinski. He had a sister Helena and other siblings. Jerzy was a painter. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. His father was killed by the Germans for refusing an order. Jerzy was sent to the Warsaw ghetto which was established by the Germans in October 1941. On March 23, 1943, he was arrested for political activity. In early May, Jerzy was transported to Auschwitz concentration camp as a political prisoner. He was assigned prisoner number 119517. In January 1944, Jerzy was transferred to Flossenbürg concentration camp and assigned number 4817. While interned, Jerzy was severely beat by a guard and lost the hearing in one ear. When the doctor who treated him learned that he was an artist, he gave Jerzy some paper and charcoal. Jerzy begin secretly creating sketches of the scenes he witnessed in the camp. When the guards learned that Jerzy was an artist, he was able to improve his situation at the camp by drawing birthday and Christmas cards for them. Between April 15-20, 1945, as Allied forces approached, the SS began to evacuate the camp, sending prisoners by train and forced march toward Dachau concentration camp. Jerzy was at Dachau when the camp was liberated on April 23 by American troops. Jerzy then went to Schwandorf displaced persons camp. He was hospitalized in a DP hospital from September - December 1945. While recuperating, Jerzy used his sketches as the basis for finished drawings of concentration camp scenes. In January 1946, he relocated to Munich DP camp. Jerzy's first wife, who was Jewish, had been sent from Poland to Germany as a forced laborer. She was killed during a bombing raid. He Americanized his name to George. Two books of his drawings of ghetto and concentration camp life were published in 1946: K.Z. Album, which visualized his experiences in Warsaw Ghetto, and 24 drawings from concentration camps in Germany. On April…
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1946-12-31
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1946-01-01
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had some members with language: eng
physical characteristics and technical requirements: [4] p. folded introductory insert, 24 leaves of plates in portfolio cover ; plates 15.625 x 11.750 in. (40 x 30 cm.) : ill. ; 41 cm. Introduction, artist information, and captions in English, French, German, and Polish. In rotogravure. Portfolio cover with interior flaps and a folded explanatory insert signed by the artist.
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn42763/alternateIDs/1
identifier: irn42763
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The publication was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2011 by Audrey Schoenwald.
scope and content: Signed portfolio of rotogravure prints, number 0004 of 1000, of 24 drawings by George (Jerzy) Zielezinski depicting scenes he witnessed of daily life and death as a prisoner in German concentration camps from 1943-1945. The set includes a portfolio cover, a folded introductory insert discussing the prints signed by Zielezinski, and 24 individual reproductions. These sets were sold in the US for $10 by the American Friends Service Committee to raise funds for Zielezinski, then working as a dish washer in New York City. Zielezinski, a Polish Catholic, was arrested in Warsaw by the Germans for political activity in March 1943. He was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp and assigned prisoner number 119517. In January 1944, he was transported to Flossenbürg. In mid-April 1945, as Allied troops approached, the SS began evacuations, sending the prisoners to Dachau concentration camp via trains and death marches. The camp was liberated April 23. Jerzy went to Schwandorf displaced persons camp, and later relocated to Munich DP camp. While incarcerated, he created drawings in secret on scraps of paper. After the war, he used the sketches as the basis for finished drawings of prisoner life and camp atrocities.
has or had some members with language: pol
has record set type: Item
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn42763/acquisitions/1
title: Portfolio
type: RecordSet
has or had holder: us-005578
conditions of access: No restrictions on access