DeptName
Art

IDNO
IWM ART LD 5468

ProductionDate
April 1945

ProductionPeriod
Second World War

ItemName
Human Laundry, Belsen: April 1945

ObjectType
painting

IndexConcepts
concentration camps
holocaust
atrocities / war crimes
medical / convalescence
wounded / disabled
bathing / toilet
civilian personnel
civilian suffering
women / womens work

IndexHistPeriod
Second World War

FullSummary
One of a group of works produced by Zinkeisen during her time as a Red Cross artist.

The 'human laundry' consisted of about twenty beds in a stable where German nurses and captured soldiers cut the hair of the inmates, bathed them and applied anti-louse powder before they were transferred to an improvised hospital run by the Red Cross. The tension in the composition lies in the enforced dealings between the emaciated and feeble former inmates and the healthy medical staff treating them.

ContextDescription
image: A line of wooden tables the front three with an emaciated figure sitting or lying on top. Each of the figures is being washed by a man or woman dressed in a white uniform. A metal bucket stands at the foot of every table; a woman is seen walking out of the room carrying a bucket in either hand.

Format
oil

Support
canvas

Dimensions
804 mm
1000 mm

CopyrightStatus
crown

MakerName
Zinkeisen, Doris Clare

AcquisitionMethod
transfer

AcquisitionNote
War Artists Advisory Committee commission

AcquisitionDate
1947

RelatedImageFile
TPYF_5500/IWM_ART_LD_005468.jpg

UncatTransferDate
13/06/2007 05:50:45

URLEncodedDeptName
Art

FormatDescription
painting

AuthorityLink
Zinkeisen, Doris Clare

IndexPlace
Belsen, Lower Saxony, Germany

IndexEvent
Liberation of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp 1945, Holocaust, Germany, Second World War

Theme
Holocaust
German Home Front 1939-1945

CoLStatus
Published

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y