Description:

Dachau Prisoner Watercolor of French City Presented to American Officer the Day the Camp was Liberated, with Outstanding Provenance!

A rare and original watercolor painted by a survivor of Dachau, the infamous Nazi concentration camp in Bavaria, Germany, presented to one of his American deliverers on April 29, 1945, the same day the camp was officially liberated!

The pencil and watercolor on paper drawing is signed by the artist, Dachau camp prisoner Albert Heinze (born 1894 in Berlin, interned at Dachau after August 6, 1942), as "A. Heinze / 45" / Dachau K.L. " at lower right. Also pencil inscribed with the work's title, "Frühling i. Elsas" [trans: "Spring in Alsace"] at lower left. The watercolor depicts a blue-domed castle in eastern France, and was done from memory before Heinze's captivity. The paper and mat are gently toned. Scattered minor foxing to the mat, and a small barely noticeable hole to the mat in the upper right corner mentioned just for accuracy. Matted and framed behind glass. Not examined out of the frame. The sight size of the watercolor is 5.5" x 8.25" while the overall framed size is 12.75" x 15.75" x .625."

Heinze presented this watercolor to Captain Henry P. Rost, Company E, 232nd Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army, on April 29, 1945, the day the main camp at Dachau was liberated.

Little is known about Albert Heinze except that he was a political prisoner who lived in Block 20/4 at Dachau in April 1945, and that he had survived a remarkable 32 months of imprisonment at the camp. Prisoners endured horrible conditions at Nazi forced labor camps like Dachau, where a high mortality rate was caused by starvation, exhaustion, unsanitary living conditions, and rampant disease. In addition, Dachau prisoners were often subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, medical experimentation, and systematic murder. The 32,000 deaths officially recorded at Dachau is a reflection of severe under-reporting.

Dachau, located about 10 miles northwest of Munich, had been the first Nazi concentration camp established, in March 1933. Over its twelve years of operation, Dachau interned thousands of Nazi enemies of the state including Jews, Catholics, Roma, political prisoners, and prisoners of war. The main camp at Dachau was liberated by Allied forces on April 29, 1945. At that point, approximately 30,000 prisoners were still incarcerated there, despite last-ditch efforts by Nazi commanders to kill off 10,000 prisoners on a death march staged a few days earlier.

The historical record does not reveal any additional information about Captain Henry P. Rost, though his military unit, the 232nd Infantry Regiment, did indeed assist in the liberation of Dachau. The 232nd Infantry Regiment was attached to the 42nd Infantry Division, or "Rainbow Division," tasked with subduing Bavaria and the Rhineland-Palatinate during the last death throes of the Third Reich.

Provenance:

After Albert Heinze presented this watercolor to Captain Henry P. Rost, it was sold to George H. Edwards in February 1972. The piece was then acquired at auction. The provenance material includes high-quality photocopies of the following material:

1. An image of Heinze's original handwritten message in German, translated roughly as: "To: The first American officer and commander of our concentration camp, Dachau, a small token of our deepfelt thanks, for our lucky liberation by your troops." The original was signed by Heinze and framed behind glass.

2. An image of the reverse of Heinze's letter in the original frame, signed by Simon Wiesenthal (1908-2005), an Austrian Jewish Nazi hunter who survived interment at five Nazi concentration camps.

3. An image of the original typed statement of Captain Henry P. Rost, describing the gift of the watercolor from Albert Heinze. Rost wrote in part: "On the following day, during liberation ceremonies, was presente[d] to me, the seal of the camp, and three watercolors, and a letter of appreciation, by Albert Heinze, a political prisoner in the camp." [The seal, two of the three watercolors, and the letter are NOT included here.] The original statement dated February 3, 1972 was signed by Rost, the buyer, and a notary public.

4. The remaining two sheets of images show Simon Wiesenthal in three of the four photographs along with the previous owner of this lot, and the last photograph shows Heinze's letter.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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