Etching by Karl Schwesig showing a fellow prisoner writing in a concentration camp

http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn513880-irn513906 an entity of type: Record

rico:history

The drawing was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988.

Karl Schwesig was born on June 19, 1898, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. His father was a miner. From 1916 to 1918, Schwesig served in the German Army during the First World War (1914-1918). In 1918, Schwesig began studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dusseldorf. In 1921, he left the conservative academy and joined the Junge Rhineland artist group. In 1924, Schwesig cofounded the satirical magazine Die Peitsche (The Whip). The right wing Nazi Party was growing rapidly in popularity duirng the 1920s and Schwesig was an outspoken anti-Nazi. He joined the Communist Party in the late 1920’s. Hitler came to power in Germany in January 1933 and the country was soon ruled by a Nazi dictatorship. On July 11, 1933, Schwesig was arrested for his anti-Nazi commentary. He was detained by the SA and interrogated for the names of colleagues who also resisted the Nazis. He was sent to Ulmer Höhe prison in Dusseldorf. In 1934, he was convicted of treason and served his sentence in Bendahl prison in Wuppertal. After his release on November 18, 1934, Schwesig was granted political asylum in Belgium and lived in Antwerp. In 1937, his German citizenship was revoked and his property in Germany was confiscated by the Nazi regime. On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded Belgium. Schwesig was arrested and deported to St. Cyprien internment camp in Vichy France. In October, he was moved to Gurs internment camp after St. Cyprien was destroyed by flooding. In February 1941, he was transferred to Noé internment camp. In March 1943, he was sent to Nexon internment camp and classified as a politcal prisoner. In June, Schwesig was sent to Fort Romainville prison in Paris and in July to Ulmer Höhe prison in Dusseldorf. Throughout his imprisonment, Schwesig drew images of daily life in the camps. Schwesig was liberated in Ulmer Höhe after American forces captured Dusseldorf on April 17, 1945. The war ended when Germany surrendered on May 7. Schwesig stayed in Dusseldorf. He died, age 57, in 1955.

rico:identifier

irn513906

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Etching by Karl Schwesig showing a fellow prisoner writing in a concentration camp

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overall: Height: 13.500 inches (34.29 cm) | Width: 18.250 inches (46.355 cm) pictorial area: Height: 8.125 inches (20.638 cm) | Width: 10.750 inches (27.305 cm)

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Etching created by Karl Schwesig between 1948 and 1949 in Dusseldorf. The drawing depicts five inmates writing, three of whom are missing a limb, and is based on Schwesig’s experiences in internment camps in Vichy France. After Hitler came to power in January 1933, Schwesig, a Communist, was arrested and imprisoned for 16 months. After his release in 1935, he lived in Antwerp, Belgium. On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded Belgium. Schwesig was arrested and sent to Vichy France, where he was held in St. Cyprien, Gurs, Noe, and Nexon internment camps. In 1943, he was sent to Ulmer Hoeh prison in Dusseldorf, where he was liberated by American forces in April 1945.

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ehri:physicalCharacterisiticsAndTechnicalRequirements

Etching on offwhite paper depicting 5 inmates sitting in a bed with a thin mattress, writing on paper in their laps. They are wearing uniform jackets and have somber facial expressions. The man on the left is in right profile and is missing his right leg below the knee, with an artificial wooden leg. The man on the right is sitting with both legs off the side of the bed. The 2 men behind them are both missing an arm. The man in the background is in left profile. The background is darkly shaded with hatched and cross hatched lines, except for a line of towels hanging behind them with a small kettle hanging on the left. front, lower left corner below image, pencil : Nr. 25 Nostalgia front, lower right corner, pencil : illegible signature back, lower left corner, pencil : 0/12 back, lower center, pencil : G81-25/3 back, upper right corner of image, handwritten, blue ink : 726

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