1941.11.01 "Barbed Wire Gulag" by Fred Gielbert

1941.11.01 “Barbed Wire Gulag”
by Fred Gielbert
8 x 10 in., graphite on paper
Coppola Collection

The date (except for the 1941) and the title are invented. There are a few non-descript cataloguing marks on the back, consistent with this having been an illustration rather than an editorial piece.

What we can see: three soldiers, all in helmets, in an exceptionally stark depiction. We do not know if these are three different figures, or the tragic progression of one individual. 

A uniformed soldier lies face down, skewered. The central figure, nude and skeletal, with barely a suggestion of tattered clothing, hangs suspended from his right wrist, over a hollow depression, clawing at his arm. A third figure, wrapped in a coil of barbed wire and in the same state of agony, claws at the post from which the other figure is suspended. 

I got this because it comes from 1941 and represents a really interesting mystery to understand. The date is the only contextual clue, and while war is hell, there is obviously a visceral horror in the artist’s eye. The drawing was reportedly from the private collection of a western artist from Chicago, Cal E. Bromund (1903-1979). It became available in the estate sale of his grandson, Rick (1958-2026).

What do we know? The Western European war in late 1941 was relatively stagnant. The Nazi focus was on taking the Balkans and, after June, the intended fast conquest of Russia upon violating the non-aggression pact with Stalin.

The barbed wire entrapment appears consistent with a common German design. 

After sharing the image with a few artists, there is an interesting consensus that this might be a scene drawn from observation. 

1. The date is genuine (1941).

2. The subject remains unidentified. Nothing in the drawing uniquely identifies Germans, Soviets, or any specific battle.

3. The emotional register is exceptional.