WŁODZIMIERZ SIWIERSKI

Born September 19, 1905 in Brzeziny, Poland; died October 19, 1984 in Warsaw, Poland

Background
1919-23 Siwierski studied in Moscow and 1929-33, he attended the Sorbonne in Paris.  After 1933, he lived in Warsaw and worked as an artist, painting portraits, still lifes, and landscapes.

Arrest and Deportation to Auschwitz
Siwierski was arrested in Warsaw on September 14, 1940, and sent to Pawiak prison.  September 20, 1940, he was deported to Auschwitz, where he received prisoner number 4629.

Work Assignments at Auschwitz
Siwierski was initially assigned to hard labor and was later transferred to the carpentry shop, where he produced toys, ornaments, and wood sculptures.  An SS commission visiting Auschwitz in June 1941 selected some of his sculptures for inclusion in the Museum of Penology in Berlin.

Art Produced at Auschwitz
1942 he replaced fellow artist and prisoner Xawery Dunikowski working on a model of Auschwitz. Siwierski also completed about 200 drawings of camp life.

Release from Auschwitz and After
March 1942, he was released from the camp, smuggling out some of his drawings by taping them to his body.  Following his release, Siwierski illustrated several underground publications, despite the fact that he periodically had to report to the Gestapo.  After the war, he lived in Warsaw, working as a painter, architect, and interior designer.

Bibliography:
Archives at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim.

Jaworska, Janina.  Nie wszystek umrę... Warsaw, 1975.

Milton, Sybil and Janet Blatter.  Art of the Holocaust. New York, 1981.