us-005578-irn607878-irn183405
type: RecordSet
archival history: The painting was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015 by John B. Rottersman, the son of Rachel Greene Rottersman.
biographical history: Richard Martin Karl Kiwit (or Kivit, 1888-1981) was born in Tartu, Estonia. In 1904, he began studying art at the Tartu German Artisans Association, and went on to publish illustrations and cartoons. Among his works was a popular series of Estonian children’s books. Richard married Salme Adele Margarete Martin (1891-?), and in 1912, their daughter, Dagmar Elisabeth Kiwit (later Moder 1912-?), was born. In 1944, he immigrated to Germany, where he worked for the publisher, Herba & Schneider, and the Stuttgart and Karlsruhe Museum of Natural History. Dagmar became a pediatrician, and following World War II, worked as a Medical Officer at the Aglasterhausen Children’s Center, run by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). Rachel Blair Greene (later Rottersman, 1908-1993) was born in Seattle, Washington, to William (1874-1947) and Ada (nee Prall, 1877-1929) Greene. Rachel had three brothers, George (1907-1979), Robert (1912-1993), and William, Jr. (1917-2012). William was a lawyer, and the family lived in a large home. They employed a housekeeper, and owned a local movie theater. At age 12, Rachel and a friend began helping care for children from a local orphanage, and gave clothing to a classmate whose family had recently immigrated to the United States. When Rachel was 14, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer while traveling on the east coast, and Rachel took over as the primary caregiver for her brothers. In 1926, Rachel enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle, and focused on premedical studies at her father’s insistence. During Rachel’s third year, her mother died, leading Rachel to drop out of school. In 1931, Rachel joined a government relief organization, a step that aligned with her teenage dream of becoming a social worker. After multiple federal and state assignments, she resigned in early 1936 and reenrolled at the University of Washington, graduating in December 1936. The following month, she began attending the…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Rectangular, watercolor and gouache painting on light cream-colored paper. The painting depicts a courtyard flanked by two buildings with orange-red roofs. On the left is a two-story building with a chimney, a green tree in the foreground, and stack of lumber along the front wall. The front has an open, rectangular doorway in the center with a perpendicular archway to the right, and six, six-paned windows with green shutters. The archway is wide and shallow, connecting the building to a three-story building on the right side of the courtyard. On the building’s left corner is a small porch with a brown roof. Underneath the roof is a brown door with a white, inset window and an open, rectangular window. To the right of the porch is an arched, open doorway beside a drainpipe that extends to the roof. The upper stories have five windows of varying sizes. In front of the porch, there is a blue and white striped lounge chair and a round bird bath on a pedestal base. Visible through the archway is a wheelbarrow and a drooping tree in front of a single-story, brown outbuilding with a red-orange roof. A title is inscribed in the lower left corner, and the artist’s signature is painted into the lower right corner. The back of the painting is heavily discolored and stained, and the upper left corner has remnants of tape, yellowed with age. lower left corner, handwritten, pencil: Markgröningen
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1947-01-01
has end date: 1947-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had subject: 823
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn183405
is or was included in: us-005578-irn607878
record resource extent: overall: Height: 11.875 inches (30.163 cm) | Width: 13.875 inches (35.243 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Watercolor painting of a courtyard in the city of Markgröningen, Germany, painted by artist Richard Kiwit (or Kivit) and gifted to Rachel Greene Rottersman, director of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) Aglasterhausen Children’s Center, in Unterschwarzach, Germany. Markgröningen is a city located 20 kilometers northwest of Stuttgart, and about 60 kilometers south from Aglasterhausen. Richard Kiwit was a well-known Estonian illustrator who moved to Germany in 1944. His daughter, Dagmar Elisabeth Kiwit (later Moder), was a pediatrician, and following the war worked as a Medical Officer at Aglasterhausen Children’s Center. The children’s center opened in October 1945, and employed UNRRA personnel, skilled staff from the displaced persons (DP) population, and local German maintenance workers. The children lived in a structured environment, received classroom instruction, participated in music and arts, enjoyed planned recreation time, and were responsible for regular chores. The UNRRA ceased its DP operations in June 1947. However, the children’s center remained open with the assistance of the Preparatory Commission of the International Refugee Organisation (PCIRO). During Rachel Green Rottersman’s tenure, between September 1945 and February 1948, 1,000 children had been cared for at Aglasterhausen. Of those, approximately one-third were repatriated to their native countries in Europe, 100 were reunited with their parents in Germany, and 350 were sent to the United States and Canada for adoption or foster care.
title: Watercolor painting of a courtyard given to an UNRRA official