us-005578-irn85635-irn9871
scope and content: A copy of “Tsurik fun Gehenem: 22 tseykhenungen fun Berl Friedler” [Back from Hell : 22 collected sketches by Berl Friedler,] published in 1947 and owned by Jakob Lewkowicz, who spent who spent several years as a concentration camp prisoner. The bound book contains a series of 21 color-printed, chronological sketches drawn and published by Holocaust survivor Berl Fridler. The sketches are preceded by a Yiddish-language forward written by Paul Trepman. Before the Holocaust, Jakob lived with his parents in Będzin, Poland. The German army entered their town on September 4, 1939, three days after the invasion of Poland. At the beginning of 1940, Jakob started working for the city administration. Jakob was sent to St. Annaberg (Góra Świętej Anny), Poland, at the end of 1942, where he was registered as a forced laborer. In early 1943, Jakob was sent to Blechhammer forced labor camp in Blechhammer (now Blachownia Slaska), German-occupied Poland. Jakob was still at Blechhammer in spring 1944 when it became a subcamp of Auschwitz III (Buna-Monowitz) concentration camp. On January 21, 1945, the camp was evacuated, and Jakob was sent on a forced march to Gross-Rosen concentration camp, and later transported to Buchenwald and Schörzingen concentration camps in Germany. In mid-April, he was forced to march toward Dachau concentration camp. On April 22, while marching, Jakob was liberated by American soldiers. After the war, Jakob spent time in Saulgau and Rastatt displaced persons camps near Baden, Germany. Jakob sailed to the United States on January 19, 1950.
has or had some members with language: yid
identifier: irn9871
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/0
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn85635-irn9871/acquisitions/1
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn85635-irn9871/alternateIDs/1
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1947-01-01
has record set type: Item
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/433
title: Back from Hell : 22 collected sketches by Berl Friedler Book of sketches printed postwar and acquired by a former Polish Jewish prisoner miṭ a for-ṿorṭ un ṭeḳsṭ fun Pol Ṭrepman.
record resource extent: overall: Height: 9.125 inches (23.178 cm) | Width: 11.875 inches (30.163 cm)
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/7
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/3
biographical history: Jakob Lajb Lewkowicz (1922-1996) was born in Będzin, Poland, to Judka (1885-?) and Adele (or Idla) Poremba Lewkowicz. Judka worked as a tailor. While Jakob was growing up, Będzin was home to a large Jewish community. In 1931, the Jewish population numbered 21,625, roughly half of the town’s total population. There were several hundred Jewish-owned factories and workshops, a Jewish press, and primary and secondary schools where lessons were taught in Yiddish and Hebrew. After finishing school, Jakob became a tailor like his father. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and the army entered Będzin, known by the Germans as Bendsburg, on September 4. On the night of September 8, soldiers burned the Great Synagogue of Będzin, killing over 200 Jews praying within, as well as roughly 50 Jewish houses surrounding the synagogue. Many Jewish residents were also killed by firing squads as they tried to escape or rescue the Torah and other religious books. The physical attacks were followed by repressive economic legislation requiring the Jewish population to relinquish their businesses and personal property. At the beginning of 1940, Jakob started working, without payment, for the city administration in Będzin. In the middle of 1940, Jewish families were systematically removed from houses in the center of the city, and forced to find apartments in a four-block area that served as an open ghetto. In November 1940, the first deportations from Będzin began when all Jews who were not working in local workshops, or for the Jewish council, were required to appear before a medical commission for selection to labor camps. All of the Jews in Regierungsbezirk Kattowitz region, or East Upper Silesia, which included Będzin, were placed at the disposal of the Organization Schmelt run by SS-Oberfuehrer Albrecht Schmelt. The Organization was an extensive program of forced labor that had begun establishing camps for Jews earlier that year. Since Jakob was likely working in a mu…
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
is or was included in: us-005578-irn85635
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Book; 2 leaves; 21 plates; ill.; 23 cm The book is bound and is printed in black ink on tan paper. It consists of a Yiddish-language forward, followed by a series of color printed sketches chronologically depicting exclusion, ghetto, and concentration camp scenes.
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-camps/43
type: RecordSet
archival history: The book was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1995 by Jakob Lewkowicz.
date: approximately 1947
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1947-12-31
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-terms/683