The dates of newspapers and announcements on which Richter’s drawings were created allow us to conclude that he was still sketching in the spring of 1944, reproducing from memory previously-observed scenes of the years 1942 and 1943. Each sketch bears the artist’s signature. In one of the works, illustrating the 1943 transport to Sobibór, Richter presented his portrait - in a group of workers standing by the rail tracks.
Some of the drawings are hastily-compiled records: the fleeting impressions of a direct witness. Others were created at a certain distance in time from the observed scenes. There are no records as to whether the author was artistically educated. On the one hand, his sketches are marked by a certain simplicity and brevity; on the other hand, they are characterised by a good mastery of graphic art. In addition to the artistic value, Joseph Richter’s collection of works has a unique documentary value; it reveals places and events described by few surviving historical sources.
The exhibition prepared by the State Museum at Majdanek and the accompanying album contain a complete collection of 18 drawings by Joseph Richter from the collections of the Ghetto Fighters’ House in Israel.
9