Autobiographical sketch created in a DP camp of an execution at a mass grave
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 20.375 inches (51.753 cm) | Width: 17.250 inches (43.815 cm)
pictorial area: Height: 15.000 inches (38.1 cm) | Width: 12.500 inches (31.75 cm)
Creator(s)
- George L. Salton ()
Biographical History
George Salton (1928-2016) was born Lucjan Salzman on January 7, 1928 in Tyczyn, Poland to Henry and Anna Salzman. He had one brother named Emil. In 1941, he was forced into the ghetto in Rzeszów and was transferred to the Rzeszów concentration camp in 1942. He was later deported to a number of camps, including Plaszów, Wieliczka, Colmar and Urbis (both subcamps of Natzweiler), Watenstedt (a subcamp of Neuengamme), Ravensbrück, and Wobbelin (a subcamp of Neuengamme). After liberation, he spent two years in various displaced persons camps in Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1948. While serving in the U.S. Army, he met Ruth Wolfberg, a fellow survivor. The couple married and raised three children in Rome, NY. After his retirement, he wrote a book, The 23rd Psalm: A Holocaust Memoir, and co-founded with his wife the Palm Beach chapter of Leah and later Insight, organizations dedicated to the education of young people about the Holocaust.
Archival History
The drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in1988 by George Salton.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of George Salton
Scope and Content
Small study depicting an execution at a mass open grave created by Lucjan Saltzman, later George Salton, at a displaced persons camp in 1946 in Neustadt, Germany. It was a study for a watercolor painting, 1988.14.3. In 1941-42, twenty-three year old Lucjan was transferred from the Rzeszow ghetto in Poland to the concentration camp there. He was later deported to a number of concentration and labor camps, including Płaszów and Wieliczka in Poland, Colmar and Urbis, subcamps of Natzweiler in France, Watenstedt, a subcamp of Neuengamme, Ravensbrück, and Wobbelin, a subcamp of Neuengamme in Germany. After liberation, he spent two years in various displaced persons camps in Germany before emigrating to the United States.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Small oil study for execution at mass open grave
Subjects
- Jewish refugees--Germany.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Personal narratives.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in art.
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Germany.
- Concentration camp inmates--Biography.
- Jewish artists--Poland.
Genre
- Object
- Art