us-005578-irn74897-irn4385
type: RecordSet
archival history: The cover was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991 by Ani Mander.
biographical history: Walter Spitzer was born on June 14, 1927, in the Czech-Polish border town of Cieszyn (Województwo Śląskie), Poland, to Grete Weiss and Samuel Spitzer. He had a brother, Harry. It was a pleasant, upper middle class existence and Walter’s artistic talent was noticed early. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. In 1940, his brother was taken away by German soldiers. Shortly after, his father died from complications after surgery. Soon after, all the Jews of Cieszyn were banished from their homes. Walter, age 13, and his mother sought refuge in Strzemieszyce, near Sosnowiec and Bedzin in southwest Poland. Conditions were believed to be better there; the ghetto was open and the Jewish Council was extremely organized. Walter was able to support them by working as a photographer and as a welder at the Eisenwerke (Steel Factory). But in June 1943, the Jews were expelled from Strzemieszyce and transported to Blechhammer labor camp. Walter was separated from his mother and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he was tattooed with the number, 178489. In January 1945, Walter was forced on a death march to Gross-Rosen, from where he was taken to Buchenwald by train and assigned the number, 124465. In his autobiography, Spitzer relates a promise that he made to the German political prisoner in charge of his barracks. This man told Spitzer that he would keep him off the next transport lists, if he promised to tell with his pencils all that he saw in the camps. While at Buchenwald, Walter made portraits and drawings which he bartered for bread. He also did clandestine drawings of forced labor. Most of his camp drawings were lost when the camp was liquidated. The inmates were forced on a death march to Sylésie in February, then to Gera, a Buchenwald subcamp. While on the forced march to Gera, in April 1945, Spitzer was liberated by the United States Army. In May, he was transported to Austria, where he was taken in by the 3256 Signal Service Company of the United States Arme…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Paper cover for etchings with a pencilled inscription. front, inside cover, pencil : Pour toi Jean - quelques souvenirs que j'ai grave a la memoire de mes compagnons de Blechhammer, Gross Rosen, et Buchenwald. Walter, Paris le 28 Mars 1963. [For you Jean - some memories that I engraved in the memory of my friends from Bleckhammer, Gros Rozen, and Buchenwald. Walter, Paris March 28, 1968.]
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: Restrictions on use. Donor retains copyright for this collection.
date: 1943 June-1945 April
has beginning date: 1955-01-01
has end date: 1955-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: fra
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn4385
is or was included in: us-005578-irn74897
record resource extent: overall: Height: 19.750 inches (50.165 cm) | Width: 13.000 inches (33.02 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Cover to a set of etchings created by Walter Spitzer in 1955 based upon his experiences as an inmate in multiple concentration camps during the Holocaust. Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, Walter fled with his family from Cieszyn (Województwo Śląskie). In 1940, his brother, Harry, was taken away by German soldiers and his father died after surgery. In June 1943, he and his mother, Gretta, were deported to Blechhammer labor camp where they were separated. Walter was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and tattooed with the number 78489. The 17 year-old Spitzer began documenting camp life in Buchenwald where he promised a fellow inmate to tell with his pencils all that he saw in the camps. Walter's family did not survive the war and he settled in France. He became a professional artist, creating an eloquent artistic record of the Shoah.
title: Cover for a set of etchings by Walter Spitzer inscribed by the artist