Ghetto Terezin
Object numberM1995/062
TitleGhetto Terezin
DescriptionPainting, oil on board, of a scene in Terezin ghetto, painted by Bedrich Wachtel, Theresienstadt, 1944. The donor Joyce Herz's first husband bought it from the artist in Sydney.
Bedrich Wachtel recalls: “I painted all my pictures before the ‘beautification’ as at the end of 1944 I was transported with my family to Oświęcim (Auschwitz) where my first wife died in a gas chamber. From there I was dragged away with my two sons into the concentration camp Buchenwald. After the end of the war, in May 1945, I returned to Prague and retrieved my pictures which and been hidden in a wall in the former brewery in Terezin by Mr Joseph Proges.”
Bedrich Wachtel, an engineer, was born in 1892 and painted from his early youth. He was deported to Theresienstadt in 1942 and with the help of Czech gendarmes, smuggled paints into the Ghetto. Painting in oil on wooden boards from dismantled furniture such as cupboard doors, he depicted the sombre atmosphere of his environment. He was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 with his two sons, having hidden his paintings in an abandoned brewery. After the war he retrieved them, although some were damaged by the dampness of the walls. He arrived in Australia in 1949 with members of his family.
Bedrich Wachtel recalls: “I painted all my pictures before the ‘beautification’ as at the end of 1944 I was transported with my family to Oświęcim (Auschwitz) where my first wife died in a gas chamber. From there I was dragged away with my two sons into the concentration camp Buchenwald. After the end of the war, in May 1945, I returned to Prague and retrieved my pictures which and been hidden in a wall in the former brewery in Terezin by Mr Joseph Proges.”
Bedrich Wachtel, an engineer, was born in 1892 and painted from his early youth. He was deported to Theresienstadt in 1942 and with the help of Czech gendarmes, smuggled paints into the Ghetto. Painting in oil on wooden boards from dismantled furniture such as cupboard doors, he depicted the sombre atmosphere of his environment. He was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 with his two sons, having hidden his paintings in an abandoned brewery. After the war he retrieved them, although some were damaged by the dampness of the walls. He arrived in Australia in 1949 with members of his family.
Production date 1944 - 1944
Subjectghettos, holocaust art
Object namepaintings
Dimensions
- width: 450.00 mm
height: 540.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs. Joyce Herz