Escapes from horror
An exhibit of art by
inmates of Auschwitz
comes to Wayne State
By Rebecca Kavanagh
The Holocaust was evil to the extreme.
During World War II, millions of men,
women and children were sent to
concentration camps in Nazi-occupied
Europe. Those who were too young, too
old or too ill for labor were
marched to the gas chambers
without ever being registered,
without ever being counted.
Those who survived the selection
process faced a fate that was
perhaps worse than death.
Terror raged throughout the
camps: inhumane conditions,
backbreaking work, humiliation,
starvation, punishment, torture,
execution.
And still, in the midst of that
horror, the human spirit
prevailed.
represented in this exhibit," says Mike
Smith, archivist for the Jewish Community
Archives at Wayne State's Walter P. Reuther
Library. "It is an honor that Wayne State
was selected as one of the chosen venues in
the United States."
When visitors come to St. Andrew's on
the WSU campus during the Sept. 7-28
exhibition, they will encounter several
drawings — ranging from heavily detailed
to hauntingly sparse — portraying everyday
"I have no idea," says survivor Emery Klein,
who was 15 when he joined his brother
and father at Auschwitz-Birkenau. While
imprisoned there and at Gleiwitz, Klein saw
no evidence of art being made or hidden
from SS guards. "It is simply unbelievable.
But we tried all kinds of things to keep our
minds from what was happening."
Liberated in February 1945, Klein eventually
moved to the Detroit area and worked to
serve its Jewish community. In 2006, he and
his wife, Diane, were honored
for their volunteer efforts with
the Jewish Federation's most
prestigious tribute, the Fred M.
Butzel Award.
The 84-year-old Farmington
Hills resident intends to visit
the Forbidden Art exhibit
while it's on the Wayne State
campus. He appreciates its
educational value, having
spent so much time himself
speaking to schoolchildren
and other audiences about
his experiences. "I feel it's
important for people to know
what happened, and what can
happen. This tragedy must not
be repeated."
There is proof of that in Forbidden
Art, an exhibit coming to Wayne
The stark exhibit allows for solitary contemplation of each piece. Artist
State University in September
and historical details lend context to the artwork.
featuring artwork created by
That's exactly the intended
prisoners of Nazi concentration
message, says Wayne State's
camps.
life in the camps as well as prisoner
Smith, who in addition to coordinating the
likenesses. Some of the drawings were
WSU stop has helped arrange logistics for
The powerful exhibit originated at Poland's
found near Auschwitz's gas chambers
the other locations. The team worked with
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in late
and include killing scenes. Others show
American
universities to reach students and
2011 and is now traveling to four U.S.
an escape from reality, with caricatures
new
audiences
beyond those at traditional
locations. It spotlights 20 photographs of
and fairy tales that inmates wrote for their
Polish
and
Jewish
centers. The idea was to
artwork made illegally and under the threat
children. Also featured are small sculptures
increase
the
exposure
to those who may be
of death. Historical details and excerpts
and jewelry.
less
familiar
with
the
Holocaust
narrative.
from archival accounts accompany each
photo.
Mystery surrounds the very existence of
Matthew Seeger, dean of Wayne
such art. How could starving, exhausted
State's
College of Fine, Performing and
"While imprisoned in horrible conditions
prisoners find not only the necessary
Communication
Arts, says Forbidden Art is
by the brutal Nazi regime, artists continued
materials but also the time, strength and
a
unique
opportunity
to make important
to produce the works of art that are
energy to create beauty of any kind?
images accessible
to students and the
community at large.
The Department
of History, the
Department of Art
and Art History, and
various Jewish Studies
courses will likely study
the exhibit this fall. A
panel discussion called
"Who Owns Art? The
Holocaust, Ethics and
Cultural Patrimony" is
among the scholarly
programming planned.
Forbidden Art
Exhibit details
Sept. 7-28, 2012
Thursday-Friday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday noon-4 p.m.
St. Andrew's Hall
Wayne State University
918 Ludington Mall
Detroit, MI 48202
Free and open to the public.
3
The famous gate to Auschwitz I, built in 1940, the administrative
center of a network of concentration camps operated by the
Third Reich in Poland.
cont. on page 7