us-005578-irn44394-irn47229
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 a plump, white rabbit sitting in profile inside a rectangular, wooden hutch bedded with yellow-and-brown straw. The wire door on the front of the hutch is partially open, and a corncob, a pair of wooden clogs, and an illegible piece of paper are resting on top of the solid roof. The hutch is resting on a shaded brown and black floor, in front of a tan, brick wall. The hutch is flanked by a straw broom on the right, and a three-tined pitchfork on the left. Leaning against the wall, just behind the pitchfork, are two partially wrapped bundles of brown straw leaning against the wall. 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.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1944 January 12
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had subject: 265
has or had subject: 638
has or had subject: 0
has or had subject: 43
has or had subject: 2019
has or had subject: 247
has or had subject: 433
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn47229
is or was included in: us-005578-irn44394
record resource extent: pictorial area: Height: 7.500 inches (19.05 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 a caged rabbit on a Dutch family’s farm near Genum (Ginnum), Netherlands, created by Abraham Rijksman while in hiding on January 12, 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 a large white rabbit done by a Dutch Jewish man in hiding