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Felix (Feiwel) Cytrin

Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1894. Died in New Jersey, United States, in 1971.

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Moritz Nachtstern (?), Sachsenhausen, 1945

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Moritz Nachtstern (?), Sachsenhausen, 1945

Stereotyper. Born 1902 in Warsaw, Poland. Lived in Oslo, Norway. In 1942, transported to Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen. After the war, returned to work as a stereotyper, in a Norwegian family Magazine, Hjemmet. Died in 1969.
Pencil on paper
35X24.9 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Moritz Nachtstern (?), Sachsenhausen, 1945

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Max (Meijer Louis) Groen, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Max (Meijer Louis) Groen, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Newsreel cameraman. Bill sorter in Block 19, Sachsenhausen.
Born in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1918. After the war, worked as translator of subtitles of foreign films. Died in Amsterdam, Holland, in 2004.
Paper on pencil
29X20.7 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Max (Meijer Louis) Groen, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Max Wulfowitch, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Max Wulfowitch, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Locksmith. Engraver press mechanic in Block 19, Sachsenhausen.
Born in Kielce, Russian Empire, in 1899.
Pencil on paper
29.1X20.6 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Max Wulfowitch, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Arthur Klein, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Arthur Klein, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Electrician.
Born in Königsaal, Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1897.
Sepia on paper
39.7X30.7 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Arthur Klein, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Hans Kurzweil, Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Hans Kurzweil, Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Bookbinder. Foreman of the currency forgery operation in Block 19, Sachsenhausen.
Born in Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1908.
Charcoal on paper
40.3X30.1 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Hans Kurzweil, Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Peter Hans Edel (Hirschweh), Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Peter Hans Edel (Hirschweh), Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Artist. Retoucher (Paper Currency) in Block 19, Sachsenhausen.
Born 1921 in Berlin, Germany. After the war, active in the cultural scene as a writer, journalist and book illustrator. Died 1983, in East Berlin.
Charcoal on paper
40.2X30.5 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Peter Hans Edel (Hirschweh), Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Severin Tiefenbach, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Severin Tiefenbach, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Engraver. Born 1919 in Leslau, Poland.
Charcoal on paper
40.2X30.3 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Severin Tiefenbach, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Born in Russia.
Charcoal on paper
40X30.7 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Printer. Born in Lodz, Poland.
Pencil on paper
40.2X30.1 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, c. 1944-1945

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Money sorter. Born in Paris, France.
Pencil on paper
29.1X20.6 cm

Collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, Jerusalem
Gift of Marcia Friday in honor of the heirs of Felix Cytrin, PA, USA

Felix Cytrin (1894-1971), Unidentified Portrait, Sachsenhausen, 1944

Cytrin immigrated to Germany and lived in Leipzig, where he became a successful painter, specializing in portraiture. His works were exhibited in leading galleries in Germany. He married Margarete née Braun, and had a daughter. In the winter of 1942, Cytrin was transported to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and assigned to Operation Bernhard – a scam of the Nazi regime to counterfeit British currency, in an attempt to cause the collapse of the Allie's economies. As an expert engraver, Cytrin became a key figure in the group of counterfeiters, and was appointed head of the engraving department. The high quality of the counterfeiting relied, to a great extent, on Cytrin's professionalism. In February 1945, as the Red Army approached Berlin, the group of counterfeiters was hurriedly transported to Mauthausen, in a final effort to counterfeit American dollars. Cytrin was liberated in Ebensee in the spring of 1945. In 1949, he and his wife immigrated to the United States, and settled in New Jersey. In the United States, Cytrin did not resume painting, but focused on tool and die maker and marketing.

As head of the engraving department of Operation Bernard at Sachsenhausen, Cytrin used the art supplies he was given for counterfeiting, to draw portraits of his fellow prisoners. These lively portrayals reflect the multicultural human fabric of those forced to participate in this counterfeiting operation – prisoners requisitioned from many concentration camps, to which they had been transported from all over Europe.

In his naturalistic portraits, Cytrin preserves the heartwarming appearance of the prisoners, as if they had not been captured while interned in a concentration camp. The portraits are drawn in pencil, charcoal and crayons on paper. Most are dated 1944 or 1945. On the back of each portrait, the artist added information about the subject, such as the person's name, occupation or background. He kept the portraits in a small portfolio that he made, which he managed to keep with him until his liberation.

Yad Vashem holds 42 of Cytrin's portraits, which were recently donated in view of this exhibition.

In the exhibition “Last Portrait: Painting for Posterity”, Yad Vashem continues in its persistent endeavor to restore a face and a name to the victims of the Holocaust and tell their personal story. Despite our efforts, some portraits remain unidentified. If you have additional information about the portraits and/or artists that are part of this exhibition, please contact the Yad Vashem Art Museum staff.

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