The Holocaust – a terrible tragedy of modern history.
This year in Berlin at the initiative of the German historical Museum held an exhibition of paintings by prisoners of ghettos and concentration camps. Some authors have survived, but most died in agony in prison. In memory of all who were doomed to suffering, left of the picture. Fighting with death, artists of the last forces tried to capture the beautiful lyrical landscapes and to denounce the inhuman cruelty in cartoons.
The exhibition is called “Art of the Holocaust”, in the Berlin Museum are exhibited paintings from the collections of the national Jerusalem memorial Yad Vashem, created in order to perpetuate the memory of the years of terror against the Jews. There are 100 paintings, their authors – the prisoners labor and kontslagerei and ghetto. Most of the works talks about the bleak existence that was eked out of the prisoners. The fact that the paintings have survived to the present time, is a miracle. These paintings of friends and relatives of prisoners were taken secretly.
1. Paul Fantl, “a song sung”
Paul Fantl by profession was a physician, was born in Prague in 1903, was incarcerated in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Due to the fact that one of Czech police proniknuta to him with pity, the artist received the materials and could paint. Its color painting “goose is cooked” – a caricature of Hitler, the Fuhrer is depicted in the form of a clown, his guitar, prelectura melody the whole nation, lies on the floor broken and bloody. The pattern is very bold, in January 1945, Fantl with his wife and son were deported to Auschwitz, where the whole family was sentenced to death. Saved picture is still the same Czech policeman, having immured her in the wall of the ghetto.
2. Felix Nussbaum, “Refugee”
Felix Nussbaum, the most famous painter of them all whose work is represented in the exhibition. He was arrested in Belgium in 1940, but he managed to escape to Brussels with my wife. The picture of “Refugee” is autobiographical, she tells the story of the wandering Jew, who never can find peace. Initially, the canvas of Felix sends his father in Amsterdam, but the father gets to Auschwitz in 1944, and after his assassination, the painting goes under the hammer at auction. Not escaped death and Chet Nussbaum, Felix’s wife sentenced to exile in the same concentration camp in 1944. At the time of his death he was only 39 years old.
3. Moritz müller, “Roof in the winter”
Moritz Mueller – the painter, not only by vocation. In Prague, he graduated from art school, then founded his own auction house, which was closed by the Nazis after the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In the Theresienstadt concentration camp, he wrote more than 500 paintings for the exhibition were selected the painting “the Roof in winter”, which impresses with an idyllic landscape and a strong contrast with the reality. Several Muller paintings preserved in private collections, purchased at auction by the widow of an Austrian officer. The artist ended his life in Auschwitz in 1944.
4. Nelly toll, “Girls in a meadow”
Nelly toll is the only author of those whose works in the exhibition, which has survived to the present day. Nellie was born in Lviv, and painted as an eight-year old child. The motif of walking on the sun-drenched meadow is a projection of a desire to hurry through a terrible time, to break free from prison, because in reality, at that time, the girl’s mother took refuge from persecution in the house of a Christian family.
In 2016, Nellie was personally present at the opening of the exhibition in Berlin.
5. The Bedrich Frit, the “Black course”
The Bedrich Frit – another prisoner of Theresienstadt. He was born in the Czech Republic in 1906 and died in Auschwitz in 1944. Together with like-minded painters worked in conclusion, the paintings were hidden in the walls of the ghetto. His painting “the Black course” is a metaphor of death because of the half-open gate can not see the possibility of escape.
6. Carl Robert Bodek and Kurt Conrad, Leo, “One spring”
The picture “One spring” written by the Duo of artists – Carl Robert Bodegom and Kurt Conrad, Left, during their stay in the concentration camp Gurs in occupied France. Despite its tiny size, it became the centre of the exhibition. Bright butterfly fluttering over barbed wire – a symbol of liberation. The fate of the artists were different: the Austrian Kurt Leo managed to escape from the concentration camp to Switzerland, but Karl Bodek, who was born in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi, came to Auschwitz where he was killed.
7. Leo Haas, “the Arrival of transport, the Terezín ghetto”
Leo Haas, a talented schedule. He was employed by the Nazis to develop architectural drawings of Theresienstadt. Nights the prisoner stealthily made sketches about the life of a concentration camp. The painting “Arrival of the transport” we can see dozens of doomed people who were taken to certain death for a death camp. From the picture blows cold and tragic omen, on systems circling birds of prey. Despite the fact that Haas was waiting for a hopeless future, he is still drawn in the lower left corner of the sign underground resistance – V. From Theresienstadt Haas was transferred to Auschwitz, managed to survive in a concentration camp and survived until 1983.
8. Charlotte Salomon, self-portrait
Charlotte Salomon was born in Berlin and during the war took refuge from the Nazis in the South of France. Together with her husband she was arrested by the Gestapo in September 1943, exiled to Auschwitz where he was murdered. At the time of the shooting, the woman was five months pregnant. The exhibition includes three paintings by Salomon, her self-portrait accurately conveys the disturbing emotions and fear of the unknown.
Of the 140 thousand prisoners who were in Auschwitz, survival was only 20 thousand. In memory of the victims of Nazism contemporary photographers sought out the survivors of the prison. Their stories are a reminder to future generations that in no event it is impossible to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.
