woodcarving
Object numberM2007/050
Titlewoodcarving
Creator Kurt Lewinski (scupltor)
DescriptionHedgehog carved by Kurt Lewinski, Mulga wood, 1991.
Kurt Lewinski was born 11 December 1921 in East Prussia, Germany, the son of Meta and Jacques Lewinski. In 1938 he went to an ORT school in Berlin to learn a trade in preparation for emigration. In August 1939, he and 95 other ORT boys were sent to Leeds, England, to attend a technical school. The 18-year-olds were interned as ‘enemy aliens’ and sent to Australia on the HMT Dunera in 1940. He learned to carve while interned at Hay internment camp, modelling small animals from wooden offcuts using his pocket knife. He furthered his wood carving technique and made small domestic items such as ashtrays, cigarette boxes and bookends which brought in some handy pocket money. His small animals showed the characteristic features of their breed. He joined his other two Dunera friends, Fred Lowen (FL) and Ernest Rodeck (ER), in their “FLER” wooden furniture enterprise. This became Lewinski’s lifetime job. By the 1960s, FLER had grown into a major design company, with factories across Australia. Kurt continued to produce little wooden animals and other objects until his death in 2005.
The object was donated by 'Dunera Boy' Mike Sondheim.
Kurt Lewinski was born 11 December 1921 in East Prussia, Germany, the son of Meta and Jacques Lewinski. In 1938 he went to an ORT school in Berlin to learn a trade in preparation for emigration. In August 1939, he and 95 other ORT boys were sent to Leeds, England, to attend a technical school. The 18-year-olds were interned as ‘enemy aliens’ and sent to Australia on the HMT Dunera in 1940. He learned to carve while interned at Hay internment camp, modelling small animals from wooden offcuts using his pocket knife. He furthered his wood carving technique and made small domestic items such as ashtrays, cigarette boxes and bookends which brought in some handy pocket money. His small animals showed the characteristic features of their breed. He joined his other two Dunera friends, Fred Lowen (FL) and Ernest Rodeck (ER), in their “FLER” wooden furniture enterprise. This became Lewinski’s lifetime job. By the 1960s, FLER had grown into a major design company, with factories across Australia. Kurt continued to produce little wooden animals and other objects until his death in 2005.
The object was donated by 'Dunera Boy' Mike Sondheim.
Production placeMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
SubjectDunera, Hay internment camp, enemy aliens
Object namesculptures
Materialwood
Dimensions
- width: 130.00 mm
length: 170.00 mm
height: 40.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mike Sondheim