us-005578-irn50303-irn8291
type: RecordSet
archival history: The charcoal drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by Mordecai E. Schwartz.
biographical history: Alfred Glück was born in 1921 in Vienna, Austria, to a Jewish family. Following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938, Alfred left for a hachsharah of Hachsharah of Hechalutz in Guringshoff, Germany, to obtain agricultural training in preparation for his eventual emigration to Palestine. In 1940, the organization sent him to Denmark under a special agreement with the Danish government allowing young German Jews to come as agricultural workers to work for Danish farmers. In 1943, Alfred joined a small group of Hechalutz, Der Neue Weg, which planned to illegally travel to Palestine by way of Turkey. The plan called for the youngsters to hide under train cars transporting goods from Denmark to Turkey. Alfred was captured by the Germans on the border between Switzerland and Germany. He was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp and assigned to subcamp Jaworzno. In 1945, the inmates are forced on a death march to Buchenwald, where Alfred meets a group of Danish police officers incarcerated there. They shared the extra food rations they receive at camp as well as the care packages they get from the Danish government. Alfred underwent another death march to Bissingen, where he was liberated by a group of French soldiers. After liberation, Alfred settled in Hamburg, where he made a living painting portraits. He then moved to Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp administered by the United Nations Refugee and Relief Organization (UNRRA). While there, he met a Czech officer employed by UNRRA who encouraged him to draw what he remembered from the camps after she spotted his artistic talent. She brought him an album and drawing materials. The album was left with the officer after Alfred departed for Palestine via Belgium and Marseilles in 1946, and was eventually donated to Yad Vashem. Alfred, age 86, died in Israel in 2007. Mordecai E. Schwartz had a college degree in business adminstration and was fluent in six languages when he enlisted in the United States Ar…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Charcoal drawing on paper depicting a bombed village, with planes flying overhead. The artist's signature is inscribed in the lower right corner.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: after 1945 May-1946
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn8291
is or was included in: us-005578-irn50303
record resource extent: overall: Height: 10.000 inches (25.4 cm) | Width: 14.375 inches (36.513 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Charcoal drawing created by Alfred Glück in 1945-46 in the Hackensecke displaced persons camp in Germany. While at the Bergen Belsen DP camp, Alfred was encouraged by a Czech officer working for UNRRA to make drawings depicting scenes he had witnessed during the war. In 1939, eighteen year old Alfred had left Vienna after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. He went to Germany to receive agricultural training at a Hechalutz hachshara in preparation for emigration to Palestine. In 1940, he was sent with other group members to Denmark to work as an agricultural laborer on Danish farms. In 1943, he joined a Hechalutz cell, Der Neue Weg, which had a plan to emigrate illegally to Palestine. The young men stowed away on freight railcars leaving Denmark for Turkey. Alfred was caught by the Germans on the Swiss-German border and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Jaworno subcamp. In early 1945, he underwent two death marches, first to Buchenwald, and then to Bissengen, where he was freed by French soldiers. He settled briefly in Hamburg, then went to the UNRRA displaced persons camp in Bergen Belsen. In 1946, Alfred emigrated to Palestine. The drawing was given to Mordecai E. Schwartz, a former US Army soldier, who served as the Area Director for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) from 1945-1948, when UNRRA was deactivated.
title: Autobiographical drawing of bombed villages created by Alfred Glück in Hasenhecke DP camp