us-005578-irn614013-irn619220
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn614013-irn619220/alternateIDs/1
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Black and white linocut print on very thin, off white, lightweight paper adhered to a large paper window mat. The image depicts the snow covered yard of Compiègne prison camp in France. Two pairs of figures and a lone figure with a cane are all dressed in black and standing in the yard. The back of the yard has a large black watchtower in the center with a row of shorter snow covered gable roofed buildings behind. In the foreground, on the left, is an open walled pavilion. Handwritten in pencil along the bottom margin is the series number, title, signature, and date. Approximately 1.5” of the top and bottom edges of the window mat are folded over the front. The print is adhered along the top edge to the frame and an undersized medium weight paper backing is adhered at the top left corner to the print. The paper is yellowed and discolored from age and the backing paper has a vertical crease down the middle. The backing paper has black and green dirt and smudge marks throughout. front, top right, handwritten, pencil : [illegible]
has or had some members with language: fra
title: Main Camp 122 Compiegne Black and white linocut print of the Compiègne internment camp created by Jacques Gotko
record resource extent: overall: Height: 8.125 inches (20.638 cm) | Width: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) pictorial area: Height: 5.125 inches (13.018 cm) | Width: 6.625 inches (16.828 cm)
conditions of use: Restrictions on use. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum does not own copyright to this material. No information about the copyright was included on the Deed of Gift.
has record set type: Item
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/1976
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
is or was included in: us-005578-irn614013
identifier: irn619220
type: RecordSet
scope and content: Linocut print of a yard in the Compiègne internment camp in German-occupied France created by artist Jacques Gotko in 1942. The print was acquired by George Waldman, who was held in Compiègne from December 1941 to July 1943. George, Betsy, and their teenage son, John, were American citizens who lived in Paris to manage their paper import-export business. In response to the German invasion of Poland, France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. In May of 1940, Germany invaded and quickly defeated France, occupying the northern half of the country. In 1941, the Germans began rounding up foreign born Jewish residents. Gotko, a native of the Soviet Union, was arrested in Paris in July 1941 and detained in Compiègne internment camp. In the camp Gotko painted watercolors, drew pencil sketches, and created linocuts of life in the camp and sent his earnings from portrait commissions to his wife. On December 12, 1941, a day after Germany declared war on the United States, George Waldman was arrested and detained at Compiègne as an enemy alien and later joined his wife and son in Vittel internment camp. In 1942, the Germans began to deport foreign born Jews to concentration camps in the east. In September, Gotko was transferred to Drancy internment and transit camp where he was reunited with his mother and sister. In November, his mother and sister were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. On July 18, 1943, Gotko was deported to Auschwitz, given prisoner number 130612, and was selected for forced labor. Gotko died of typhus on January 2, 1944, in Auschwitz.
history: George Louis Waldman (1890-1972, b. Jules Chazanoff) was born in Stepan, in the Russian Empire (now, Ukraine) to Boroch (1856-1941) and Bella Spelman Waldman (1860-1949). George had 3 younger brothers and a younger sister. In 1910 he immigrated to the United States via Montreal, Canada, on the Allen Train Line. George worked as a plumber before starting a paper import-export business. He married Betsy Stackowitz (1898-1970) on March 28, 1917 in Boston Massachusetts. Betsy was born in London, England, and immigrated to the United States in 1906. They had two sons, Milton Albert Waldman (1918-2002) and John Robert Waldman (1928-1973). As part of their paper business, the Waldmans established an office in Paris, and split their time living in France and the U.S. At the onset of World War II George, Betsy, and John were staying in France. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany. In May 1940, Germany invaded France and occupied the northern half of the country. After the conquest, the Germans did not bother American citizens living in France, including the Waldman family, despite their Jewish heritage. Jewish citizens from the United States and western enemy states were exempted from the German anti-Semitic policies because of their potential prisoner exchange value during the war. On December 11, 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the United States. The next day, George was arrested and detained in Compiègne internment camp as an enemy alien. While in Compiègne George lived in military style barracks. On January 11, 1943, Betsy and John were arrested and detained at Vittel internment camp. In July, George was removed from Compiègne, taken to Vittel, and reunited with his family. In Vittel, the Waldman’s had hotel-like accommodations with running water and heat. They were able to send and receive mail, and received weekly Red Cross packages. The Germans pub…
date: 1942 January-1942 September
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn614013-irn619220/acquisitions/1
history: The print was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Deborah Pearson, the daughter of John Waldman and the granddaughter of George and Betsy Waldman.
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/0
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had holder: us-005578