us-005578-irn47278-irn61295
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Painting in watercolor on watermarked paper depicting in black and grays, from the right foreground, a uniformed soldier with helmet, backpack, and rifle, walking along a narrow mountain road. Slightly ahead and to his left is a rear view of a jeep, with a spare tire mounted on back. It carries a driver and another uniformed soldier seated at a higher elevation. Advancing from the middle ground is another jeep. It is rounding a curve in the road and carries 3 soldiers. There is a large black rounded rock on the right that extends upward out of view. The focal point of the work is a very distant complex of walled buildings on top of a mountain, highlighted by a bright white semicircle. The background is painted dark gray, and the mountain, Monte Cassino, is a slightly lighter gray. The edges of the paper are unpainted and the paper has a fold crease. See 2012.471.67 for a preliminary study of the scene.
has record set type: Item
has or had holder: us-005578
record resource extent: overall: Height: 13.875 inches (35.243 cm) | Width: 9.750 inches (24.765 cm)
title: Eyewitness drawing of troops advancing near Monte Cassino by a Jewish soldier, 2nd Polish Corps
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: irn61295
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…
type: RecordSet
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
is or was included in: us-005578-irn47278
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn47278-irn61295/acquisitions/1
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1944 May 31
scope and content: Vivid black and gray illustration of Allied troops advancing toward Monte Cassino created by Edward Herzbaum, 24, on May 31, 1944. Several works created by Edward were published during the war in military produced magazines. Edward was a soldier in the 2nd Polish Corps, British Army, which was honored for bravery during the four month 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy. The Allies bombed the 1349 abbey in February and the resulting ruins provided protected defensive positions for German troops, blocking the northward progress of the Allies. The 2nd Polish Corps led the mountain assault in the May victory, the fourth battle waged to break through the German stronghold. Edward, 19, left Łódź, Poland, shortly after Germany occupied the country in September 1939 for Soviet controlled Lvov. In June 1940, he was exiled to a gulag by Soviet security police. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Edward was released in an amnesty of Polish prisoners. He headed south to join the Polish Army of the East, known as Anders Army. In August 1942, the unit left Soviet territory and became the 2nd Polish Corps. In February 1944, they joined the 8th British Army in Italy. They were in Italy on VE Day, May 8, 1945 when the war ended. Edward learned that his mother died in 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 worked for two years for the Polish Resettlement Corps and completed his degree.
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn47278-irn61295/alternateIDs/1