111 drawings made in Buchenwald by Boris Teslitsky. Paris 1946 - First Edition - Numbered copy

111 drawings made in Buchenwald by Boris Teslitsky. Paris 1946 - First Edition - Numbered copy

111 Dessins de Boris-Taslitzky faits à Buchenwald.

111 drawings made in the Buchenwald death camp by camp inmate Boris Taslitzky about a year before his release. numbered copy 9/144. Printed on thick, fine paper. Published by La Bibliothèque française Paris, 1946. First edition.

In the drawings, Taslitsky describes prisoners returning from forced labor under the threat of the Zunder commando, prisoners driving in the wheelbarrows their murdered comrades, prisoners on berths in broken bodies and bewilderment, daily forced labor in the camp, prisoners with broken body parts, gatherings of prisoners seeking refuge, and more difficult scenes he sew in his own eyes while he was in the camp. Taslitsky made the drawings in secret, during his stay in the camp on stolen German paper.

Boris Teslitsky [1911-2005], a French painter who became famous in the 20th century mainly due to the series of drawings before us. A hero revolutionary, who survived the Holocaust thanks to his resourcefulness. Born in Paris to Russian parents who immigrated to France after the failure of the Russian Revolution Party in 1905. Already at the age of 15 his paintings glorified the leading galleries in France. In 1935 he joined the French Communist Party. During World War II he was drafted into the French army in August 1939. In November 1941 he was arrested by the Germans and transferred to prisons in the French region, where he was imprisoned for about two years. In July 1944 he was deported in one of the last deportations to the Buchenwald death camp. During his stay in the camp under harsh body conditions, Taslitzky created pencil drawings documenting the daily routine of the camp, he created portraits of prisoners, and he used to paint on the walls of the camp. After the war he published these drawings in the publication before us in a limited edition. After the war he returned to art.

The booklet includes: 100 drawings, 6 portraits, and 5 watercolor illustrations. Includes an 11-page introduction by Julien Cain. The drawings are all described in three languages: French, English, and Russian, and numbered. 22x26 cm. Good  - very good condition.