Drawing of a tree at an internment camp by a Polish Jewish inmate
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 6.375 inches (16.192 cm) | Width: 8.500 inches (21.59 cm)
Creator(s)
- F. (Fiszl) Zber (Subject)
- F. (Fiszl) Zber (Artist)
Biographical History
Fiszel Zylberberg-Zber was a Jewish artist born in Plock, Poland, on June 23, 1909. By the 1930s, he was living in France and established as an artist, especially known for his woodcuts. In May 1940, Nazi Germany invaded France. An armistice was signed in June. Germany occupief the northern and western regions. In 1941, the German began arresting and interning foreign born Jews. Zber was detained around this time. He was sent to Beaune-la-Rolande internment camp. In 1942, the German began deporting the inmates to concentration camps in the east. Zber was deported on Convoy 6 to Auschwitz concentration camp in German occupied Poland where he was killed on October 26, 1942, at the age of 33.
Archival History
The drawing was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
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
Ink drawing by Fiszel Zber of a tree on the grounds of Beaune-Le-Rolande internment camp in France where he was imprisoned from 1941-1942. Nazi Germany invaded France in May 1940. After the June armistice, the Germans occupied the north and western regions. In 1941, the Germans began rounding up Jewish residents who were not born in France. Zber, an artist specializing in woodcuts, was born in Poland. He was arrested as a foreign born Jew in 1941 and interned in Beaune-le-Rolande. While there, he drew scenes of the camp and the daily activities of the inmates. In 1942, the Germans began to deport foreign born Jews to concentration camps in the east. Zber was deported to Auschwitz where he was killed, age 33, on Oct. 26, 1942.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Drawing in black ink on paper depicting a tree with a split trunk and multiple branches curving to the left filled with small leaves, except for a dead branch on the left. There is a partial sketch of a tree in the background. It is signed and dated at the bottom.
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
- Concentration camp inmates as artists--Beaune-la-Rolande--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, German.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--France--Personal narratives.
- Deportees--France--Biography.
- Jewish artists--France--Biography.
- Concentration camps in art--France--Beaune-la-Rolande--Pictorial works.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in art--France.
Genre
- Art
- Object