Henri Christiaan Pieck

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Henri Pieck (1946) ̇

Henri Christiaan Pieck , also called Den Helder (born April 19, 1895 in Den Helder ; † January 12, 1972 ) was a Dutch painter , architect and graphic artist , resistance fighter against National Socialism , prisoner in Buchenwald concentration camp and member of the Dutch resistance group.

Life

Henri Pieck was born with his twin brother Anton Franciscus Pieck , who later also became an architect. After finishing school, he studied painting and architecture . In the 1930s he worked out of socialist conviction as an informant under the direction of Ignace Reiss for the Soviet secret service , to whom he passed numerous documents from the Foreign Ministry through the acquaintance of a friend . After the German occupation he was active in the anti-fascist resistance . In 1940 he was arrested and sent to Scheveningen prison . In 1941 the Gestapo transferred him to the Oranjehotel prison and from there via the Amersfoort transit camp to the German Buchenwald concentration camp , where he was transferred to the prisoner infirmary. He worked illegally in the Dutch resistance group and made many drawings and other graphic works about everyday prison life. At a New Year's Eve event in 1944/45 he installed a symbolic backdrop depicting the hope of liberation. In April 1945 he was one of the 46 prisoners scheduled for liquidation by the SS . After the liberation of the prisoners by the 3rd US Army , he was present as a member of the International Camp Committee in the preparation of the funeral service.

The Dutch prisoner Govert Ritmeester later said of Pieck:

“ My friend Henri Pieck, whom I came to appreciate in Buchenwald, has memories of the great misery and suffering we had to endure there with his nifty pencil, also of the countless companions who died there, far from them Family, emaciated, mistreated, condemned to death. And again and again when I look at these pictures, a shudder goes through my body, a shudder of disgust and horror. They are a reminder also for those who come after us, so that all can see how senseless a war is, learn that a people and a country can only flourish through peaceful work. "

Pieck was married twice and was the father of a son and two daughters.

Publications

  • Buchenwald: Drawings from d. Concentration camp / Henri Pieck. With e. Foreword by Theun de Vries. [Ed. from D. Buchenwald-Dora camp community in d. Federal Republic of Germany], ISBN 3-87682-767-1
  • Buchenwald: Reprod. after s. Drawing from d. Concentration camp / Henri Pieck. With e. Vorw. V. RP Cleveringa
  • Buchenwald: reprod. naar zijn teekeningen uit het concentratiecamp / Henri Pieck. Met een voorw. van RP Cleveringa

literature

See also

  • Biographical Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeiders Moving in Nederland ("Biographical Dictionary of Socialism and the Labor Movement in the Netherlands")
  • The “Oranjehotel” website

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Poretsky, Elisabeth K .: Our Own People: A Memoir of "Ignaz Reiss" and his friends . London 1969, Oxford University Press.
  2. ↑ Andrew & Mitrochin: The Mitrochin Archives: The KGB in Europe and the West , London 1999, pp. 64–65
  3. ↑ Author collective: Buchenwald. Reminder and obligation. Documents and reports , Berlin 1983, p. 511
  4. ↑ Author collective: Buchenwald. Reminder and obligation. Documents and reports , Berlin 1983, p. 490
  5. ↑ Author collective: Buchenwald. Reminder and obligation. Documents and reports , Berlin 1983, p. 643
  6. ^ Emil Carlebach / Willy Schmidt / Ulrich Schneider (eds.): Buchenwald a concentration camp. Reports - Pictures - Documents , Bonn 2000, ISBN 3-89144-271-8 , p. 140
personal data
SURNAME Pieck, Henri Christiaan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES The hero
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch theologian, peace activist, publicist
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH The hague
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1972