us-005578-irn47278-irn61273
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Pencil sketch on discolored white paper depicting in the foregoround a row of 4 tall narrow bushy trees at the bottom of a steep hill. Behind them is a row of dark evergreens. In the left background on top of the hill is a large dark colored fortess with a a circular front tower and two square towers with ornamental parapets. The drawing is comped with smooth parallel strokes with frequent changes of direction, most on the diagonal. The place name, date, and artist's initials are wrritten in the lower right corner. See 2012.471.102 for another view of this scene. front, lower right corner, cursive, black ink : Castrocaro / March 45
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: Restrictions on use
date: 1945 March
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: ita
has or had some members with language: eng
has record set type: Item
history: Edward Henryk Herzbaum (later Hartry) was born on October 6, 1920, in Vienna, Austria. He was the only son of a Jewish couple, Dr. Alexander and Fanny Hermelin Herzbaum. Alexander was a chemical engineer, born in Tarnow, Poland, in February 1886 to Mendel (1855-1930) and Chana Ettinger Herzbaum, who married in 1882. They also had a daughter Gisela (1884-1912.) Chana died in 1886. In 1888, Mendel married Beila Lea Ettinger (b. August 22, 1864). Mendel and Beila had two children: Jakob (1888-1966) and Herman. Edward's mother Fanny was born in Boryslaw, Poland, near Lvov on May 30, 1890, to Samuel (d. 1922) and Chaje Sara Backenroth Hermelin. Fanny had four siblings, Rifke (b. 1883), Cirl (b. 1888), Zacharje (1884-1925), and Abraham (1885-1886.) In 1928, Edward's family moved to Poland and settled in Zawiercie. Edward had asthma and wore glasses, as he was very shortsighted. In 1934, they moved to Łódź. Alexander, 51, died in July 1937 of cancer. Edward graduated from high school in May 1938, and deferred his military service to enroll at the Warsaw Polytechnic, Faculty of Architecture. He had completed two semesters when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Edward joined the Polish Auxiliary Forces as a volunteer and was arrested by the Germans with other paramilitary youth a few days later. Edward escaped and returned to Łódź. The Soviet Union invaded and occupied eastern Poland. German occupying authorities in Łódź enacted oppressive anti-Jewish measures. At the urging of his mother, Edward, then 19, left Łódź on December 6, 1939, and went east to Lvov, which was under Soviet control. In Lvov, Edward lived with his maternal aunt and had an assortment of jobs, including office worker at a construction site, skiing instructor, and lifeguard at a swimming pool in a Soviet sports center. In June 1940, Edward was arrested by the NKVD (Soviet Security Police), tortured, and exiled to a gulag near Rybinsk on the Volga River. The prisoners logged and hauled trees in…
history: The watercolor painting was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Krystyna Mew, the daughter of Edward (Herzbaum) Hartry.
identifier: irn61273
is or was included in: us-005578-irn47278
record resource extent: overall: Height: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm) | Width: 9.500 inches (24.13 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Pencil drawing in diagonal parallel strokes of three cypress trees at the foot of a hill with a fortress near Castrocaro, a small spa town near Bologna, Italy. It was drawn by Edward Herzbaum in March 1945 while his unit of the 2nd Polish Corps, the 5th Kresowa, advanced through Italy during the war. See 2012.471.102 for another view of this scene. Edward, 19, left Łódź, Poland, shortly after Nazi Germany occupied the country in September 1939 to stay with family in Soviet controlled Lvov. In June 1940, he was arrested by Soviet security police and exiled to a forced labor camp. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. He was released as part of an amnesty granted to Polish prisoners. He headed south to join the Polish Army of the East, known as Anders Army, a volunteer Polish military unit formed by General Anders per agreement with Stalin. In August 1942, the unit left Soviet territory and became the 2nd Polish Corps in the British Army. In February 1944, they deployed to join the British 8th Army in the Italian Campaign. The Corps fought their way north and was honored for its heroic service in the May 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino. They were in Italy on May 8, 1945, when the war ended. Edward learned that his mother had died in the Łódź Ghetto in 1943. He studied architecture in Rome until the British decided to allow Polish Corps veterans to immigrate to England in October 1946. He then served in the Polish Resettlement Corps for two years and completed his degree.
title: Pencil sketch of four Italian cypresses and a nearby castle by a Jewish soldier, 2nd Polish corps