us-005578-irn50040-irn128
type: RecordSet
archival history: The drawing was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988.
biographical history: Lili Andrieux (1914-1996) was born Lili Sophie Abraham in Berlin, Germany, to Hans (1880-1955) and Margarete (nee Landau, 1887-1963) Abraham. She had two brothers, Joachim (1912-1958) and Peter (1916-1988), and a sister, Gabriele (later Nanda, 1928-2014). The Abrahams were a wealthy, assimilated Jewish family, and Hans was a respected notary or lawyer . On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Anti-Jewish decrees were passed that restricted every aspect of Jewish life. Despite this, that same year, Lili became the only Jewish woman admitted to the Hochschule fur Kunsterzeichnung (the State College for Art Education) in Berlin. Admittance to the school was based on portfolio work. In September 1935, the Nazis announced the Nuremberg Laws, which excluded Jews from citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having relations with non-Jewish persons. This likely prompted Lili’s brother, Peter, to immigrate to England in 1936 and find work in leather tanning and shoe manufacturing. In the 1930s, the other members of her family also immigrated to England, where Margarete’s brother lived. Because of the laws, Lili was not permitted to take her final exams in 1937. In 1938, she went to Paris to continue her studies at the Ranson Academie and permanently adopted the French surname Andrieux. Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, two days after Germany invaded Poland. In November 1939, Lili’s brother, Peter, left England for Melbourne, Australia, and changed his name to Peter Landan. On May 7, 1940, Lili’s parents and her siblings, Joachim and Gabriele, sailed from England, to the United States. The family settled in Massachusetts, with the support of Hans Apel, a family friend from Berlin who had immigrated to the United States in 1937. Lili’s father obtained a research position at Harvard University, and Joachim worked as a gardener, farmer, and a stockman. German forces invaded France on May 10, 1940, and the fol…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Double-sided pencil sketches on cream-colored paper. The front side has a man sitting on the ground, with an abstract face wearing a suit and a kerchief on his head. The left side of his face has horizontal, hatched shading. His knees are bent in front of him with his left foot crossed over his right. He is resting a rectangular book on his left knee with his left hand. The book has a small, checkered pattern down the left side. His right arm reaches down over his left leg and grabs his right foot. The artist’s signature and date are at the bottom right of the image. There is an inscription at bottom right that is obscured by the mat. The back has an abstract sketch of two seated figures with no faces. On the left is a woman with her head leaning on her left hand. Her right arm is resting on her lap, with the hand underneath her left elbow. On the right is a faceless figure. The figure's head is leaning to the left, with the right shoulder elevated and the left arm hanging down. The figure's left hand rests against both legs, and the hips are twisted towards the woman. There is adhesive residue on all four corners of the back. front, bottom right corner, handwritten, pencil : CAMP DE MILLES
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1942-01-01
has end date: 1942-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had subject: 1980
has or had subject: 162
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn128
is or was included in: us-005578-irn50040
record resource extent: pictorial area: Height: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm) | Width: 7.875 inches (20.003 cm) overall: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Double-sided pencil drawing of inmates in Les Milles internment camp, drawn by Lili Andrieux, a German Jewish internee. Lili created over 100 detailed drawings of people and daily life in the internment camps where she was held from May 1940 - September 1942 in France. Alençon was a collection center for transport to Camp de Gurs in Vichy, France. After surrendering to Nazi Germany in June 1940, France was divided into two zones: a German military occupation zone and Free France under the Vichy regime. Gurs, built in spring 1939 to hold refugees from Spain, became an internment center for Jewish refugees. Lili, originally from Berlin, moved to Paris in 1938. She was taken to Alençon in May 1940 and reached Gurs on June 4. From March 1941-September 1942, she was held in the Hotel Terminus waiting for a visa. Lili was then sent to Les Milles where she became ill with typhus. After recovering, she escaped with the help of the resistance, and lived in hiding until fall 1944, when the war ended in France. Lili was a translator for the US Army and US Graves Registration Command until immigrating to America in September 1946.
title: Two-sided drawing of a man reading and two figures sitting by a German Jewish internee