Drawing of the Virgin Mary by an American concentration camp inmate

Identifier
irn557782
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2016.468.6
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 5.000 inches (12.7 cm) | Width: 3.125 inches (7.938 cm)

Archival History

The drawing was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection

Funding Note: The acquisition of this artifact was made possible by The Philip and Janet Levin Foundation Family Fund.

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

Pencil drawing of the Virgin Mary created by Elsie Ragusin while she was a prisoner in Ravensbrück concentration camp in February 1945. Elsie was born in New York to a couple who had immigrated years earlier from Italy to America. In 1939, the Ragusin family went to Italy on an extended visit. Elsie and her father were arrested as political spies. Elsie was imprisoned in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. She was liberated in 1945, and taken to Sweden to recover. She returned to the US in December 1945, and was reunited with her brothers.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Drawing in pencil on paper of the Virgin Mary with inscriptions on the front and back.

Ravensbruck February 20, 1945

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.