Ecce Homo – Jan Komski

Ecce Homo - Jan Komski

More Jan Komski Paintings

-Ecce Homo – Jan Komski (Latin: “This is a Man”)

This man is being released from the camp hospital. He is considered fit to work.


Ecce Homo  – Jan Komski

Jan Komski was a Polish Roman Catholic painter who was arrested for carrying false identification papers after fleeing Poland in 1940.

After being sent to prison in Tarnow he was part of the first prisoner transports to arrive in Auschwitz. After surviving 2.5 years in Auschwitz he was able to escape along with 3 other prisoners.

They found a woman to help them who gave them civilian clothes, but Komski ended up getting arrested sixteen days later during a routine roundup on a train.

After being sent to another prison, he was sent back to Auschwitz. Upon his arrival, a prisoner recognized him and convinced the prisoners who ran the office to change his orders from Auschwitz II to Auschwitz I.

He was sent to three other camps ending up in Dachau until it was liberated in May of 1945. He emigrated to the United States and worked for the Washington Post as an illustrator.

Komski’s art showcases the reality of everyday life in a concentration camp, emphasizing the brutality he witnessed and experienced.

 


All Auschwitz paintings and art in this exhibit are copyright © Auschwitz Museum and Jan Komski. All rights reserved.