Wiktor Tołkin (February 21, 1922 in Tołkacze,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

– May 7, 2013) was a Polish sculptor and architect. A member of the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

resistance during World War II; he was arrested by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, and incarcerated at

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

from November 17, 1942, to February 1944. During this period Tołkin survived a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

to Stalag at Sandbostel.

Work

Tołkin graduated from two universities, the Gdańsk Polytechnic, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, to become one of the more influential Polish artists of the 1960s. He is best known for his monumental sculptures built in memory of the victims of the German

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

s in Stutthof and Majdanek. His most recognized works are abstract forms of colored concrete with expressive form, incorporating architectural design and elements.

Leading works

* Monument ''The Marrying of Poland with the Sea'' in Kolobrzeg, built November 30, 1963. * Monument ''Fight and Martyrdom'' in the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

concentration camp in Stutthof, built May 12, 1968. * Monument ''Fight and Martyrdom'' and the mausoleum-pantheon in the Nazi concentration camp in Majdanek, built in 1969. * ''Fight and Martyrdom'' in Pawiak,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. * Monument to the Battle of in Plock, (1978) File:Sztutowo pomnik 056.jpg, "''Fight and Martyrdom''", Sztutowo (Poland) File:German Concentration Camp Majdanek (2).jpg, "''Fight and Martyrdom''", Majdanek (Poland) File:German Concentration Camp Majdanek (3).jpg, Backsight of the "''Fight and Martyrdom''" monument in Majdanek File:German Concentration Camp Majdanek (12).jpg, Mausoleum at Majdanek, inscription: "Let our fate be a warning to you" File:Kolobrzeg-monument-poland-wedding-to-the-sea.jpg, ''Monument to the Polish wedding at sea'', Kołobrzeg

References

Bibliography

Pomnik Ofiar Majdanka
* ''Kto jest kim w Polsce'', edycja IV (zespół redakcyjny Beata Cynkier i inni), Warszawa 2001, s. 970–971 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolkin, Wiktor 1922 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Polish architects Polish sculptors Polish male sculptors 20th-century Polish male artists Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk alumni