Drawing

Title:

Kaput! I'd had it

Object Name:

Drawing

Object ID:

2002.008.03.13

Creator:

Jordan, Robert (1925-1993)

Place of Origin:

England

Date:

1945

Description:

Drawings of capture of Robert Jordan. Page 13 in sketchbook of Robert Jordan (1925-1993), U.S. Army Air Force, World War II. Pencil on paper. Horizontal rectangle.
Four drawings:
1. Two captive airmen supporting a third; with one German soldier and two townspeople, one kicking and one shaking a fist. Captioned in ink, "walking through a German RR station / with some other airmen captured the / same day. The Krauts were quite / bitter".
2. Robert Jordan walking on a town street, surrounded by local residents. Captioned in ink, "I was quite a spectacle for the / German townspeople".
3. Robert Jordan being stopped by a German with rifle. Titled in pencil, "KAPUT! / I'D HAD IT". Captioned in ink, "I didn't last / more than 10 min. / as a free man / in Germany".
4. Portrait of a German boy. Captioned in ink, "little Nazi".
The sketchbook documents Sergeant Jordan's experience as a prisoner of war in Germany, including his capture, forced march, and recovery in England.

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-10 W-14.5 inches

Provenance:

Robert Jordan (1925-1993) was a tail gunner when his plane was shot down over Hanover, Germany, on Nov. 26, 1944. He was captured and marched to a prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft 4. After liberation, he recovered in a hospital in England, where a Red Cross nurse ("Mom") bought him this sketchbook. After the war, he earned degrees from Dartmouth and Columbia, and became a talented landscape painter. In 1952, he bought a farm as a summer home in Eaton, NH, and returned every summer. In 1943, he worked as a cowboy in the Southwest at age 16.

Credit Line:

Gift of the Estate of Robert Jordan

People:

Jordan, Robert (1925-1993)

Subjects:

World War II, Prisoners of war, POW's, Prisoners, Prisons, Air forces, Capture imprisonment, Captives