Portrait of a pipe smoking man interned at Gurs drawn by another inmate
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 8.625 inches (21.908 cm) | Width: 6.375 inches (16.192 cm)
Creator(s)
- Ernst Vendig (Subject)
Biographical History
Ernst Vendig was born in 1899 in Kauserlautern, Germany. He lived with his wife Charlotte in Kauserlautern where Ernst ran a haberdashery. They had a son, Fritz, in 1932. As soon as the Nazi regime took power in Germany in 1933, it pursued policies to exclude Jews from German society. Ernst's business was Aryanized, or cleansed of Jews, in the mid-thirties, and taken from him. The family, now including Heiner, born in 1937, moved to Berlin. In November 9-10, 1938, Ernst was arrested during the Kristallnacht pogrom. After his release, the family made arrangements to leave Germany. On May 13, 1939, Ernst, Charlotte, the two boys, and Ernst's mother Pauline sailed for Cuba on the Ms St. Louis. Cuban authorities refused entry to nearly all the passengers. Appeals were made to the Cuban and US governments, but the ship had to return to Europe. The family was given refuge in Belgium. In May 1940, Germany occupied Belgium. Ernst was deported to France and imprisoned in St. Cyprien and then Gurs internment camps. In 1941, Charlotte, the boys, and Pauline obtained false papers and illegally entered France to be near Ernst. In August 1942, they were all interned at Les Milles and then Rivesaltes camp, until Charlotte's sister in Switzerland managed to get them out of the camp and smuggled into Zurich. The war ended in May 1945 with Germany's surrender. Ernst and his family emigrated to the United States in 1946.
Archival History
The drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Stephanie Vendig, wife of Fred Vendig.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Stephanie Vendig
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 portrait of his father Ernst with pipe and beret owned by Fred Vendig. It was done by an unknown inmate when Ernst was imprisoned at Gurs internment camp in France in 1940. A few years after the Nazi dictatorship took power in Germany in 1933, Ernst's business was taken from him when it was Aryanized, or cleansed of Jews. In November 1938, Ernst was arrested during Kristallnacht. On May 13, 1939, Ernst, wife Charlotte, and sons Fritz, 7, and Heiner, 2, and his mother Pauline sailed for Cuba on the MS St. Louis. Cuban authorities refused entry to nearly all passengers. Appeals were made to the Cuban and US governments, but the ship had to return to Europe. The family was given refuge in Belgium. In May 1940, Germany occupied Belgium and Ernst was deported to France and imprisoned in St. Cyprien and then Gurs. In 1941, Charlotte, the boys, and Pauline obtained false papers and illegally entered France to be near Ernst. In August 1942, they were all interned at Les Milles and then Rivesaltes, until Charlotte's sister in Switzerland got them smuggled into Zurich. The war ended in May 1945 with Germany's surrender. The family emigrated to the United States in 1946.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Portrait drawing in pencil on paper depicting in realistic details the face of a middle aged man in three-quarter left profile. He has circular wire rim eyeglasses and a black beret, with a curved tobacco pipe pressed between his lips. The artist’s signature is on the right. The paper has an unevenly cut left edge and pinholes in the top left and bottom right corners.
Corporate Bodies
- St. Louis (Ship)
Subjects
- Hidden children (Holocaust)--France--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--France--Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Concentration camp inmates as artists--France--Gurs.
- World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, French.
- Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography.
- Jewish children in the Holocaust--Switzerland--Biography.
- Jewish refugees--Switzerland--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Switzerland--Personal narratives, Jewish.
Genre
- Art
- Object