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On View

January 16, 2020 – June 20, 2021

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My commitment to drawing came out of a deep instinct of self-preservation and undoubtedly helped me to deny the unimaginable horrors of that time.” Alfred Kantor, 1971

Just as every Holocaust survivor’s testimony is unique, so too is art produced by Jews and other victims of the Nazis during the Holocaust. It is a miracle that this art survived. Each artwork in this exhibition reasserts the artist’s humanity and individuality, qualities too often obscured by iconic Holocaust photographs that were taken by the Nazis or their collaborators.

These artists documented the Holocaust as it unfolded around them, providing a unique personal layer to the visual culture of World War II. Some of the art depicts iconic scenes of the Holocaust, such as ghetto topographies and deportations, while other works are more introspective. The art in this exhibition is not accompanied by historical artifacts produced by the Nazis and their collaborators. While it is important to document perpetrator-made artifacts and images, the art in this exhibition stands alone.

Related: View a virtual tour of this exhibition

Museums and memorials rely on photographic evidence; some survivors produce art reflecting their experiences; and various films and television productions have recreated scenes of World War II.

Terezin from a Window by Jo Spier
“Terezin from a Window” by Joseph (Jo) Eduard Spier. Gift of Herbert von Peci, Museum of Jewish Heritage, NY. Click image for larger view.

But what was it like for the deported cartoonist looking out a barrack window at an SS flag?

When a young girl imprisoned in a ghetto was advised by her father, “Draw what you see,” how did she respond?

Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony highlights work from the Museum of Jewish Heritage collection made during and immediately after the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, and Poland. Much of this art was created in secret, with artists facing punishments as harsh as death if they were caught. Some of the artworks are tiny, reflecting their hidden origins. Other drawings were folded and hidden underneath a mattress or beneath one’s prisoner uniform.

To peer into history through the eyes of an artist, documenting what they saw and how they saw it, is the rarest of encounters. Rendering Witness offers a special opportunity to see art made under the most difficult circumstances – and to learn the stories of how it survived.

Related: Behind-the-scenes videos of this exhibition

Some of the art displayed in this exhibition is shown in the slideshow below.

"Eight Men in Coats with Stars" by Peter Loewenstein. Peter Loewenstein’s 1944 drawing depicts a scene from the Holocaust using faces, profiles, and jackets – a stark departure from Holocaust scenes that feature graphic or violent imagery. Gift of Herman and Gerda Korngold.
"Lodz Ghetto Bridge" by Vincent Brauner. Brauner juxtaposes the crowded, harsh conditions of the Lodz Ghetto with the freedom and unconstrained space of the street below that was outside the Ghetto. Gift of Elizabeth, Gail, and Sandy Peters.
"Electric Barbed Wire" by Alfred Kantor. Used to prevent prisoners escaping, this fence is illustrated in a way that provides a sense of the massive size of Auschwitz. Gift of Alfred Kantor. Museum of Jewish Heritage, NY.
"Children's Home" by Helga Weissova. During her imprisonment in the Terezin Ghetto, Helga Weissova, who was deported to Terezin shortly after her 12th birthday, lived in Barracks L 410 until her deportation to Auschwitz. Helga produced most of her drawings from her bunk bed near a barrack window, which gave her a unique opportunity to see throughout the Ghetto. Museum of Jewish Heritage, NY.
"Portrait of Susan Weiss" by Manci Anis. Manci Anis (1924 - ?) secretly drew fellow prisoners and members of the SS with any paper she could find while imprisoned in Soemmerda, a sub-camp of Buchenwald. The art she produced during this time is a testament to her will to continue creating even in dire circumstances. The story of this art’s survival is striking. This portrait of Susan Weiss survived because Weiss successfully hid it under her mattress and underneath her prisoner uniform. The exact fate of Anis is unknown, but Weiss successfully escaped a death march. Gift of Susan Welber.
"Terezin View from a Window" by Joseph (Jo) Eduard Spier. This Terezin Ghetto living space is organized yet disheveled, empty of people yet full of signs of human habitation. Clothes border the open window, including a coat with a Star of David identifier hanging on the left. Buckets and bottles, maybe holding medicine or water, sit on the window sill. Through the window, a dark SS flag flies in the distance. Perhaps the artist, Jo Spier, included the flag as a symbol of the constant reminder of death that hung over prisoners in the Terezin Ghetto. Gift of Herbert von Peci.