| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART96183.007 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | Sheet: 32.2 x 24.5 cm |
| Object type | |
| Physical description | offset lithograph printed in colour adhered to card |
| Maker |
Toegel, Stanislaw Markiewicz, Antoni F W Dobereiner |
| Place made | Germany: Luneburg, Celle |
| Date made | 1946 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Investigations on a 16 year old girl
Description
Macabre depiction of two SS officers torturing and interrogating a young girl. In the lower left corner is inscribed in black ink in Polish ' SS Mani - Rycerstwo - I Chluba narodu niemieckiego' which translates loosely as 'SS Men - chivalry and pride of the German Nation'. The print has been mounted on dark grey card. A title in Polish with an alternative English and French title is printed bottom centre, beneath the image, in gold ink. Unlike the other prints in this edition the Polish title is different to the other two. It translates as ' A captured courier of the Underground Army in Warsaw' whilst the English and French titles are ' Investigations on a 16 year old girl'.
The artist was in Warsaw during the uprising of August - October 1944 and likely knew the identity of the girl in his drawing. It seems to be showing the fate of a young 16 year old girl who operated as a courier for the Polish Home Army or AKH during the uprising until she was captured by the German Forces. The reference to the 'chivalrous' behaviour of the SS officers comments on Nazi propaganda portraying members of the SS as a new order of Teutonic Knights to justify its expansionist ambitions and actions.
The original drawing reproduced in this offset lithograph was created by Polish artist Stanislaw Toegel (1905-1953) while held in a German labour camp at Gotteningen.