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Henri Christiaan Pieck (19 April 1895, in Den Helder – 12 January 1972, in
During the 1930s, Pieck operated as an agent for Soviet intelligence under
Biografisch Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbeweging in Nederland
("Biographical Dictionary of
The “Oranjehotel” website
''les deux femmes'', 1914
1895 births 1972 deaths Dutch architects Dutch communists People from Den Helder Dutch resistance members Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Soviet spies 20th-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters {{Netherlands-architect-stub
Henri Christiaan Pieck (19 April 1895, in Den Helder – 12 January 1972, in The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
) was a Dutch architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, painter and graphic artist.
Pieck married twice. On 12 July 1922, he married Geziena van Gelder, with whom he had one son. This union was dissolved on 14 May 1928. His second wife, Bernharda Hugona Johanna van Lier, whom he married on 25 May 1928 in St. Giles, England, bore him two daughters. Pieck was the twin brother of Anton Franciscus Pieck, another Dutch painter and graphic artist.
Political activity
During the 1930s, Pieck operated as an agent for Soviet intelligence under Ignace Reiss
Ignace Reiss (1899 – 4 September 1937) – also known as "Ignace Poretsky,"
"Ignatz Reiss,"
"Ludwig,"
"Ludwik", "Hans Eberhardt,"
"Steff Brandt,"
Nathan Poreckij,
and "Walter Scott (an officer of the U.S. military intelligence)" ...
.
During this time he cultivated friendship with several British Foreign Office clerks, including Captain John H King, who handed over to Pieck many telegrams, code books and other Foreign Office correspondence
After being arrested on 9 June 1941 for resistance activities, Pieck spent the rest of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in German custody, first in the " Oranjehotel" (a detention center used at the beginning of the war by the Dutch as a POW camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...
that was later taken over by the Germans), after which he was deported to Buchenwald
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...
via the Nazi transit camp in Amersfoort
Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...
.
Pieck was assigned to the “Never-Never Shipment,” sparing him from being killed at Auschwitz because of SS officials’ desire to have him produce paintings that they could sell to their acquaintances for high prices.
Sources
*Further reading
Biografisch Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbeweging in Nederland
("Biographical Dictionary of
Socialism
Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
and the Workers Movement in The Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
")
The “Oranjehotel” website
External links
''les deux femmes'', 1914
1895 births 1972 deaths Dutch architects Dutch communists People from Den Helder Dutch resistance members Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Soviet spies 20th-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters {{Netherlands-architect-stub