Message from the Founding Director

Many years ago I fell in love with Fritz Ascher’s artwork. I had never heard of him, and I was not alone. I realized that Fritz Ascher is part of a rather large and distinguished group of artists, whose careers were interrupted or destroyed, and who themselves were persecuted, ostracized, or banned by the Nazi terror regime.

Since 2014, the Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art in New York researches, discusses, publishes and exhibits artists whose life and work were affected by the German Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. With our work we commemorate their artistic achievements, introduce work that may have been forgotten to a broad audience, and initiate an active dialogue about individuality and artistic integrity in response to conditions of extreme duress and to political tyranny.

Our historic focus is the German Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945, a totalitarian regime which, in the service of ideology, unleashed human suffering, persecution and killing on a scale that was unprecedented in the Western world.

We look at the art that responded to this totalitarian regime – the work of those who were persecuted and killed, survived the horrors of the concentration camps, or were able to hide or flee.

Innovative virtual programs serve our growing global audience, and exhibitions, lectures, and conferences allow local audiences the direct experience of original art and academic discussion.

International collaborations with distinguished scholars, institutions and organizations ensure the high academic standard of our programs.

We look at history to better understand the present and help build a better future.

By telling stories of those marginalized by history, we hope to sensitize the viewer to the plight of those whose stories are not told – in history, but also in present and future society. In a small way, we also hope to correct the historic storyline, story by story.

Rachel Stern
Founding Director and CEO