9 February 1944 | The Commandant of KL Auschwitz KL Arthur Liebehenschel signed requests for the awarding of War Merit Crosses, 2nd class with swords, to the following SS men: SS-Unterscharführer Johann Hinz – who, as a Kommandoführer in the agricultural department, achieved high work productivity through "skillful treatment of prisoners." SS-Unterscharführer Fritz Schramme – a truck driver who "after completing his daily routes, engaged in carrying out 'special tasks' (Sonderaufgaben) by undertaking additional trips [which meant transporting victims to the gas chambers], and each time resumed regular work again the next day. Due to his excellent service and constant dedication, he is held up as a model to other drivers of the vehicle unit of the local garrison." SS-Oberscharführer Wilhelm Clausen – the 1st Rapportführer (roll-call officer) at Auschwitz I, described as a "tireless worker" (unermüdlicher Arbeiter) for whom "there is never too much work." He was also deeply involved in the execution of "special tasks" (Sonderaufgaben) carried out in the camp. SS-Unterscharführer Klaus Dylewsky – who was responsible for handling cases of prisoner escapes (Häftlingsfluchtsacharbeiter) in the camp's Political Department. He carried out his duties with "great care and skill" [which referred to beating and torturing prisoners during interrogations], to the "full satisfaction" of his superiors. He was among the first to engage in "special tasks" at Auschwitz and "when the situation required it, was on duty day and night." Learn more about SS garrion in Auschwitz. Lesson: Podcast:

'Porquerolles, après-midi d'été.' Albert Marquet’s interest in Japanese prints is apparent in this work from 1939. His friend Matisse compared the refinement of Marquet’s landscapes to the prints of Katsushika Hokusai with their blocks of colour and air of calm.

'Rest,' is from a group of ‘Martyrdom of Man’ paintings by Reginald Brill which address the condition of humankind in the 20thC - the composition parallels religious art of the Italian Renaissance; see the sleeping soldiers in Piero della Francesca’s 'Resurrection.' (1465)

See the Scottish Colourists for the first time in the context of their English, Irish and Welsh contemporaries in the terrific new @FlemingArtColl exhibition @DovecotStudios. Peploe’s ‘Interior with a Japanese Print’ of the early 1920s, lent by @UniOfHull greets you at the start.