PAINTING BY A DACHAU PRISONER, GIVEN TO HIS LIBERATOR

PAINTING BY A DACHAU PRISONER, GIVEN TO HIS LIBERATOR
Very rare original watercolor painting created during his captivity at Dachau by camp inmate ALBERT HEINZE, Block 20/4 (born 1894 in Berlin, arrived Dachau Aug. 6, 1942) and presented to one of his American liberators on the day Dachau was liberated! The painting bears the penciled title 'Frühling im Elsass' ('Spring in Alsace') and is signed 'A. Heinze / 45 Dachau K.L.' at bottom. The watercolor shows a scene of a chateau in the background with flowering trees in the foreground showing flowering trees. The painting measures 5.5 x 8.25 in. (sight), and is set in a period mat and wood frame. This idyllic image was no doubt painted only from Heinze's memory of his life before his captivity. SOLD WITH: a COPY of the grateful letter in German from Heinze to 'the first American officer and [American] commander of our concentration camp', 1p. 8vo., Apr. 29, 1945 (the very day the main camp was liberated), presenting this painting and two others as 'a small token of our heartfelt thanks, for our lucky liberation by you and your troops...' Heinz signed in full at the conclusion, adding 'former political prisoner'. SIMON WIESENTHAL (1908-2005), Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer, signed the verso of the original frame containing this letter (see similar lot in this auction). Also included is a copy of the original letter of provenance from the recipient of the artworks, Captain Henry P. Rost, Company E, 232 Infantry Division, who aided in the liberation of the camp. Rost notes in his letter: 'I personally inspected the main administrative headquarters…On the following day, during liberation ceremonies, was presented to me, the seal of the camp and three watercolors, and a letter of appreciation, by Albert Heinze, a political prisoner...' The letter of provenance is dated June 10, 1975, mentions the items' sale to an individual, and bears the signatures of Rost, the buyer, and a notary at bottom-right. The lot also includes a second copy of the letter of authenticity, along with a 3.5 x 5.5 in. signed portrait of Wiesenthal, and two relevant photographs of Wiesenthal, one showing the Nazi hunter with a previous owner of this lot and another holding up the aforementioned letter. An important and evocative piece of Dachau prisoner art, with ironclad provenance.