Photocopy of an autobiographical ink drawing of 3 men sharing a bed as a fourth removes his shoes
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 8.000 inches (20.32 cm) | Width: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm)
Creator(s)
- Peretz Chorshati (Artist)
- Peretz Chorshati (Subject)
Biographical History
Pavel Szenwald was born on December 28, 1920, in Warsaw, Poland. He was a student at the Technical College in Warsaw when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. A few months later, he was imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto and in March 1941 was transported to the Nedev labor camp; he escaped and returned to the ghetto. In 1942, Pavel used forged Polish papers obtained by his father and escaped the ghetto. He posed as a German national, joined the German army, and served as a guard at a prisoner of war camp for Soviet prisoners. Believing his identity was about to be revealed, he fled his post in March 1943 and traveled over 600 miles to the Lida ghetto in Poland (Belarus). He escaped in April to the forest in Belarus and joined the Bielski partisans as a machine gunner and saboteur. In December, the group established a permanent base in the Naliboki forest which was under the administration of a Soviet partisan group led by General Chernyshev. The Bielski group established a relationship with the Soviet partisans who provided them with weapons. In July 1944, the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army; Pavel and his battalion fought alongside the Soviets. After the war in Europe ended on May 7, 1945, Pavel was drafted into the Soviet Army. Pavel returned to Warsaw in August 1945. He stayed at an army barracks and searched the ghetto ruins for surviving relatives but found none. Not wanting to return to his Russian army unit, Pavel decided to go to Palestine. In October 1945, he joined Beitar, a right wing Zionist group which was involved in illegal immigration and military activities. He gave up his papers, uniform, and weapons in exchange for ragged clothing and forged papers declaring him a Greek refugee. In November 1945, he crossed the border into Czechoslovakia with other Poles. They stayed in a safe house in Prague and were forbidden to leave, but Pavel heard that he could get cakes in town and left. He stopped to ask directions and was arrested. His identity, and the fact he was a deserter from the Soviet army, was discovered. His Russian interrogator told Pavel, in Yiddish, to go to Palestine, and released him. In November, Pavel and the other displaced persons crossed the border into Germany. They arrived at a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration refugee camp and in June 1946, the Jewish Brigade transported them to Marseilles, France. In Marseilles, Pavel was one of 1100 passengers to board the Biria as part of the illegal immigration to Palestine. The British ruled Palestine by mandate and restricted Jewish immigration during and after the Holocaust. The Biria was discovered by the British near Cyprus. To evade capture, the passengers were transferred to the Akbel, a Turkish coal boat, under the watch of an armed French ship, the Joan D’Arc, as British planes circled overhead. The Akbel almost sank, had no water or bathrooms, and many people were sea sick. The British intercepted the ship and rerouted it to Haifa, Palestine. The passengers were interred in the Atlit detention camp outside of Haifa. In July 1946, Pavel and another man escaped and hid by the side of the Haifa-Tel Aviv road. A passenger bus stopped and let them board without papers or money. Pavel made his way to Ramat-Gan and by winter was living in Givat Shmuel, where his daughter Shula was born. He patrolled the neighborhood at night and guarded the water tower. In the spring of 1947, Pavel joined the Irgun National Military Organization. In May 1948, he enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces and fought in the War of Independence. The war ended on May 14, when Israel became an independent state. Pavel served in the army until 1961 and left with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He changed his name to Peretz Chorshati, settled in Eilat, established the Fire and Rescue Service, and served as station chief.
Archival History
The photocopy of an autobiographical drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Peretz Chorshati.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Peretz Chorshati
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Photocopy of a drawing from a series of 19 captioned, narrative illustrations created by Peretz Chorshati (born Pavel Szenwald) between 1994-1997 about his wartime experiences. It depicts Pavel and 3 men sharing a hotel room in June 1946 in Lyon, France, on their way to board a ship for Palestine. Pavel was an 18 year old student in Warsaw when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. He was imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto until his father got him forged papers and he escaped. He posed as a German national, and joined the German army. In March 1943, Pavel deserted the German army and joined the Bielski partisan group. After the war ended on May 7, 1945, Pavel returned to Warsaw and joined Beitar, a right wing Zionist group. In June 1946, he illegally emigrated to British ruled Palestine.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Black and white photocopy of an ink drawing on white rectangular paper depicting a bedroom with female undergarments hanging from a standing clothes rack and high heeled shoes on the floor in the foreground. In the center, 3 men lay in a large, ornate bed; a fourth sits on the edge, with 1 shoe off. A fringed area rug and chamber pot are on the floor. A painting of a nude woman hangs above the bed; 2 pairs of boots are at the foot. In the left background is a mirrored dresser. A paragraph length artist’s caption in Hebrew, dates, and the artist’s name are on the front. There is a number covered with correction fluid and 2 punched holes at the top center. There is a light brown stain on the front. On the reverse is a piece of aged, yellowed, adhesive tape.
front, lower left, black ink, photocopied : Hebrew text [On the way to Palestine. We were transported by the soldiers of the Brigade from Germany to Marseilles in France. It was decided that we should sleep in the city of Lyon where our escorts took hotel rooms. We, the Maapilim, were divided into rooms - four per room. No one realized that the hotel had been used as a whore house. The “girls” were evacuated from the hotel, but it was difficult to fall asleep in the huge bed which had special springs.] / June 46 front, lower left, pencil : 13
Subjects
- Autobiographical memory in art--Pictorial works.
- Palestine--Emigration and immigration.
- World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland.
- Jewish soldiers--Pictorial works.
Genre
- Art
- Object