us-005578-irn85552-irn518563
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: a. Red sponge paint roller attached to a metal frame with a wooden handle. Inside the sponge is a wooden dowel with metal pins. The frame has a horizontal bar and L-shaped upright bars on either end, with 7 holes and a slot. A metal rod extends from the center of the bar and in inserted in the wooden handle. There is a long opening along the bottom of one side that fits over a screw with wing nut that adjusts the frame width. There are paint remnants on the handle and frame. b. Rubber paint roll stencil around a metal cylinder. The rubber is carved with a botanical relief design and has remnants of green paint. The metal cylinder has discs with a pin on either end.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1943-01-01
has end date: 1945-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
history: Franz Wohlfahrt was born on January 18, 1920, to Gregor and Barbara (Betty) Struk Wohlfahrt in Velden (Velden am Wörthersee), Austria. Gregor, born in 1896 in Velden, served in the Austrian Army during World War I (1914-1918). Gregor married Barbara after the war. They had a small farm and he did road construction. Gregor was traumatized by his battlefield experience, which caused a crisis of faith. In the 1920s, it led him to reject his Catholic faith and become a Jehovah’s Witness. He converted his family to the faith. In 1928, he began preaching publicly, trying to convert others. Franz had attended a Catholic school but in 1934, he began to assist his father with his missionary work. Nazi Germany banned the Watchtower Society, the Jehovah’s Witnesses administrative organization, and persecuted members. Witnesses did not obey any authority but God, refused to join the Nazi Party, and were dedicated pacifists. The Nazi regime regarded such attitudes as a threat to the state and German policies were very influential in neighboring Austria. Gregor was jailed briefly for preaching without a license and for peddling religious literature in 1936. Around this time, Franz finished school and was apprenticed for four years to a master house painter. In March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, a merger met with great enthusiasm by most of the Austrian population. Members of the Jehovah’s Witness were aware that they were subject to arrest and harassment for their refusal to pledge allegiance, or accept the authority of any temporal power, such as Hitler, the Nazi party, and the German government. The religion was not banned, but members were arrested for their refusal to be drafted or to do any military work. They were conscientious objectors, opposed to war on behalf of a temporal authority. In 1938, Franz was reported for refusing to return a salute or say Heil Hitler. He was called in for interrogation by the Germans, and threatened with deportation to Dachau c…
history: The paint roller and stencil were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2006 by Franz Wohlfahrt.
identifier: irn518563
is or was included in: us-005578-irn85552
record resource extent: a: Height: 10.250 inches (26.035 cm) | Width: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm) | Depth: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) b: Height: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm) | Width: 1.875 inches (4.763 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Paint roller and stencil used by Franz Wohlfahrt while imprisoned at Strafgefangenenlager Rollwald labor camp in Germany from 1940-1945. Wallpaper samples made from this roller and stencil are in collection 1989.314. Franz, 20, was jailed because, as a Jehovah's Witness, his beliefs did not permit him to put any authority before God. He would not submit to the authority of the German government or serve in the military. In 1943, at Rollwad, the new camp commandant, Karl Strumpf, was decorating his villa and Franz was assigned to the work detail. Franz experimented with latex paint and produced an effect like wallpaper, which was not available at the time. Strumpf got to know Franz through his work at the villa and saved his life on 3 occasions, shielding him from death by beheading for his refusal to serve in the military. The camp was liberated by the United States Army in March 1945.
title: Paint roller and stencil used by Jehovah's Witness labor camp inmate