Allach porcelain figurine collected postwar by a Jewish member of the French resistance
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 8.500 inches (21.59 cm) | Width: 5.250 inches (13.335 cm) | Depth: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm)
Creator(s)
- Richard Förster (Designer)
- Porzellan-Manufaktur Allach-München (Manufacturer)
- David Farin (Compiler)
Archival History
The figurine was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2020 by Susana Farin Nepomechie, the daughter of David Farin, on behalf of the David and Esther Farin Estate.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of the David and Esther Farin Estate
Scope and Content
Porcelain figure of “Mohr” (Moor), manufactured by slave labor at Dachau concentration camp, and collected after the war by David Farin, a Jewish member of the French resistance. The Porzellan-Manufaktur Allach (PMA) was founded in 1935 in the Munich suburb of Allach. It produced decorative porcelain pieces with the goal of developing a new echelon of German artistic taste. The factory quickly became a pet-project of SS Reichsführer (Reich leader) Heinrich Himmler, who eventually took control of 45 percent of the output and often gifted figures to various SS officials and friends. In 1937, the primary PMA factory moved to the SS Training and Education Camp, adjacent to Dachau. Beginning in 1940, Jewish prisoners from the camp were forced to work in the factory. Allach factories produced several themed series of figurines. A series of Morris dancers (Moriskentänzer) figurines was produced exclusively for the city of Munich to use as official gifts. They were copied from a series of sculptures commissioned by Munich city authorities and created by Erasmus Grasser in 1480. After production began on the Morris dancer figurines, consumer demand led to the creation of a series of jugglers inspired by the dancers that was available for purchase by the public in 1942. The Allach factory at Dachau continued to run until late April 1945. On April 29, U.S. forces liberated over 32,000 people at Dachau.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Glazed, white porcelain figurine of a man with short, curly hair wearing a tunic, his body is twisted and his arms raised as though mid-motion. His stands in a slightly hunched stance with his weight back on his right leg and his left leg forward, the foot turned outward. His left arm is lifted to shoulder height, with the bent elbow back and his palm facing forward. His right arm is hanging down, the forearm turned inward and the wrist angled back, his palm facing upward behind him. His face is smooth and he has a focused gaze, a wide nose with a low profile, and slightly parted lips. He wears a long, narrow scarf or length of cloth as a headband, tied at the back of his head with the ends trailing down his back. He wears a sleeveless, thigh-length tunic with a pointed hem that flips up at the back. There is a deep V-neck opening at the front of the tunic with a column of buttons down each side. The tunic is belted at the waist and worn over a shirt with a low stand collar and long, loose sleeves. His leggings are fitted, support bells around his upper left calf, and tuck into slouched shoes with pointed toes. He stands on a low, irregular, oval-shaped base, which has a maker’s mark and fraktur-style font stamped into the hollow underside. There are several rough patches on the underside of the tunic, and some light discoloration from use throughout.
People
- Himmler, Heinrich, 1900-1945.
Corporate Bodies
- Dachau (Concentration camp)
- Porzellan-Manufaktur Allach-München
Subjects
- Porcelain, German--20th century.
- World War, 1939-1945--Europe--End.
- Dachau (Germany)
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany.
- Slave labor--Germany.
- World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation.
- Forced labor--Germany.
Genre
- Decorative Arts
- Figurines.
- Object