us-005578-irn44394-irn47224
type: RecordSet
archival history: The drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Kitty Piller de Wolff, the wife of Abraham Rijksman.
biographical history: Abraham (or Albert) Rijksman (1918-2001) was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Jewish Orthodox parents, Emanuel (1882-1943) and Theresia (nee Waterman, 1886-1943) Rijksman. Abraham's older brother, Natan (1908-1945) was a baker, and was married to Marianne Engelander (1909-1942). He also had two sisters: Roza Vos (1916-?) and Henriëtte Á Catan (1910-1943). Abraham often went by the nickname Appie. German forces invaded the neutral Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) on May 10, 1940, and occupied the Netherlands by the end of the month. Jews were required to register with local police and declare their assets. In February 1941, German authorities began segregating Jews from the general population, and imprisoned thousands in forced labor camps. Abraham’s brother and sister-in-law, Natan and Marianne, were arrested in 1942, and sent to Westerbork transit camp. On October 26, they were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland, and Marianne was killed upon arrival. In April 1943, Abraham’s parents, Emanuel and Theresia, were arrested and held in the Hollandsche Schouwburg [Dutch Theater], which had been designated a Jewish theater by German authorities two years earlier. This allowed the authorities to requisition the theater and utilize it as an assembly point and detention center for Jews prior to their transport to Westerbork. After being sent to Westerbork, Emanuel and Theresia were deported on April 27 to Sobibor killing center in German-occupied Poland, and were killed upon arrival. Henriëtte was arrested on May 8, 1943, and held in the theater. Henriëtte was deported to Auschwitz and killed on October 22, 1943. Abraham was arrested in August 1943, and held at the Hollandsche Schouwberg. He was sent to Westerbork transit camp, but escaped from the train before arriving. Not long after, he was recaptured and placed on a second train to Westerbork. He escaped again, this time with an unknown pregnant woman. The woman h…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Matted, colored pencil drawing on paper depicting the interior of a freestall barn. Along the left side is a row of eight cows, facing the wall, and lying in pairs in four wood-framed stalls, except for the last cow, which is standing. The stalls are bedded with yellow straw, and bounded by a trench in the gray floor, into which the cows have defecated. At the far end of the trench, near the wooden door, is a long-handled, square shovel. To the right of the trench is a clean-swept floor, and a brick wall lined with a milk can and pail, a pitchfork, broom, bucket, water pump, a cat sitting on a bench, and a low shelf. A blue piece of clothing and two chains with hooked ends, hang above the tools. The date is penciled in the lower right corner. The paper is mounted to a tempered hardboard backing and adhered to a cream-colored, French window mat that has a thin-lined border around the window, drawn in pencil. There is a partial, English, black ink text stamp on the back of the hardboard. back, bottom edge, stamped, black ink : MADE IN
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1944 January 20
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: 265
has or had subject: 2019
has or had subject: 433
has or had subject: 638
has or had subject: 247
has or had subject: 43
has or had subject: 0
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn47224
is or was included in: us-005578-irn44394
record resource extent: pictorial area: Height: 7.375 inches (18.733 cm) | Width: 9.500 inches (24.13 cm) overall: Height: 11.750 inches (29.845 cm) | Width: 13.375 inches (33.973 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Colored pencil drawing of the interior of a cow barn on a Dutch family’s farm near Genum (Ginnum), Netherlands, created by Abraham Rijksman while in hiding on January 20, 1944. Abraham and his family lived in Amsterdam when German forces occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. His family members were all arrested and deported between October 1942 and May 1943. Abraham was arrested in August 1943, and escaped twice from transport trains to Westerbork transit camp. The second time, he escaped with a pregnant woman, whose friend gave Abraham money to travel north to Friesland. In October, Abraham was forced to flee his first placement when German authorities searched the house. While hiding in nearby fields, Abraham found Jozeph (Joe) de Haan, who had also been forced out of hiding. A local farmer, Klaas Dreijer, offered them refuge in a barn near De Houwen, and later moved them to a hiding place near Holwerd. After two weeks, they were moved again. This time, they met the Rosier family, who helped hide them. Not long after, Klaas moved Abraham to a different Folkertsma family in Genum, though he sometimes visited Joe and the Rosiers. In May 1944, German authorities caught Abraham and transported him to Westerbork. He was then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center in German-occupied Poland and selected for slave labor. In mid-January 1945, Abraham was transferred to multiple camps in Germany, including Gross-Rosen, Buchenwald, and one of the Wüste complex subcamps of Natzweiler concentration camp. In mid-April, Abraham was transferred to the München-Allach subcamp of Dachau concentration camp, which was liberated in late April. He returned to the Netherlands and found his sister, Roza, the only other member of his family to survive.
title: Drawing of black and white cows in a barn done in hiding by a Dutch Jewish man