WWII Archives - Fritz Ascher Society

Nov 19, 2024

Gertrud Kauders, Jewish Artist from Prague (1883-1942):
Surprises, Enigmas, Opportunities
Presentation by Simon During, Brisbane (Australia)

Rachel Stern2024-11-19T21:05:47-05:00November 19th, 2024|Events, Lectures|Comments Off on Gertrud Kauders, Jewish Artist from Prague (1883-1942):
Surprises, Enigmas, Opportunities
Presentation by Simon During, Brisbane (Australia)

While workmen were demolishing a house on Prague’s outskirts in July 2018 they were astonished to be deluged by works of art falling from a ceiling. Nobody knew the works had been hidden there. The art turned out to be that of Gertrud Kauders who had hidden them in the house of a friend before being deported to Theresienstadt and then to Majdanek where she was murdered on arrival in May 1942. Kauders was a serious and inventive artist, quite well known in Prague’s art world of the time. She worked in oils, pencil, crayon, watercolour and gouache. Now her work is held by museums around the world. Image above: Gertrud Kauders © Kauders Family Estate REGISTER FOR ONLINE [...]

Oct 28, 2024

Liebe und Verrat: Fritz Ascher
Kurator Erik Riedel im Gespräch mit Rachel Stern
Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt (Germany)

Rachel Stern2024-10-28T09:11:01-04:00October 28th, 2024|Events, Lectures|Comments Off on Liebe und Verrat: Fritz Ascher
Kurator Erik Riedel im Gespräch mit Rachel Stern
Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt (Germany)

Der Maler, Grafiker und Dichter Fritz Ascher (1893-1970) wurde bereits als 16-Jähriger von Max Liebermann an die Akademie in Königsberg empfohlen. Ab 1913 gehörte er zu den gefragten Malern in Berlin. Er war ein genauer Beobachter seiner Zeit; die Urkatastrophe des Ersten Weltkriegs und die revolutionären Unruhen in Berlin führten ihn zu christlichen und mystischen Themen, die er radikal neu interpretierte. Nach 1933 erhielt Ascher als Jude Berufsverbot. Während der Pogrome am 9./10. November 1938 wurde er verhaftet und im Konzentrationslager Sachsenhausen und im Potsdamer Gestapo-Gefängnis interniert. Die Schoa überlebte er ab 1942 versteckt in einem Keller in Berlin-Grunewald. Während dieser einsamen Jahre verfasste er Gedichte. Als Künstler fand Ascher nach 1945 seinen ganz eigenen Stil. Angeregt vom nahe [...]

Oct 22, 2024

Fritz Ascher in Berlin – eine Spurensuche
Kurzvortrag und Führung von Rachel Stern, New York
Augustinermuseum, Haus der Graphischen Sammlung, Freiburg

Rachel Stern2024-11-07T09:34:17-05:00October 22nd, 2024|Events, Lectures|Comments Off on Fritz Ascher in Berlin – eine Spurensuche
Kurzvortrag und Führung von Rachel Stern, New York
Augustinermuseum, Haus der Graphischen Sammlung, Freiburg

Der spätexpressionistische Künstler Fritz Ascher (1893-1970) überlebte zwei Weltkriege und die Verfolgung durch das nationalsozialistische Regime. Als aufmerksamer Beobachter der Schrecken des Ersten Weltkriegs und der revolutionären Unruhen wandte er sich christlich-spirituellen Themen zu, die er radikal neu interpretierte. In intimen Zeichnungen beschäftigte er sich ab 1916 mit dem Thema Liebe und Verrat, sowohl in seiner Auseinandersetzung mit dem Kreuzigungsthema als auch mit der Figur des Bajazzo in der tragikomischen Oper „I Pagliacci“. Kurzvortrag und Führung von Rachel Stern zeigen den Künstler in seinem sozialen und politischen Umfeld. Image above: Fritz Ascher, Im Wald, um 1919. Weisse Gouache und schwarze Tusche über Aquarell und Bleistift auf Papier, 34 x 32,2 cm © Bianca Stock The late expressionist [...]

Oct 11, 2024

Felka Platek – Artist and Companion of the Painter Felix Nussbaum
Presentation by Anne Sibylle Schwetter, Osnabrück (Germany)

Rachel Stern2024-11-20T13:50:30-05:00October 11th, 2024|Events, Lectures, Past Events|Comments Off on Felka Platek – Artist and Companion of the Painter Felix Nussbaum
Presentation by Anne Sibylle Schwetter, Osnabrück (Germany)

Felka Platek (1899 Warsaw – 1944 Auschwitz) came to Berlin from Warsaw in the early 1920s to become a painter. In 1932 she followed her friend and later husband Felix Nussbaum (1904 Osnabrück – 1944 Auschwitz) to Italy. In 1935 they decided to go into exile in Belgium. However, neither of them could escape persecution by the Nazis. They were captured in their hiding place in Brussels on June 21, 1944 and murdered in Auschwitz shortly afterwards. Image above: Felka Platek, Self-portrait in front of an open window, around 1940. Gouache on drawing paper, 65 x 49.7 cm. Felix-Nussbaum-Haus at Museumsquartier Osnabrück, on permanent loan from the Felix Nussbaum Foundation, photo © Felix-Nussbaum-Haus Osnabrück Anne [...]

Jul 31, 2024

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter AUGUST 2024

Rachel Stern2024-08-13T08:58:22-04:00July 31st, 2024|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter AUGUST 2024

Dear Friends, With the Olympic Games going on, I can't resist to share with you Fritz Ascher's drawing of two muscular male nudes wrestling. The drawing will be on view for the first time in the exhibition "Love and Betrayal. The Expressionist Fritz Ascher in New York Private Collections," which will open on November 8th at Haus der Graphischen Sammlung in Freiburg (Germany). Fritz Ascher, Two Male Nudes Wrestling, ca. 1916. Graphite and charcoal on paper, 29 x 22,8 cm. Private Collection This sheet is one of several works in which the artist depicts fighters around 1916. As a sport, wrestling experienced its Golden Age in Germany and Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. This [...]

Jul 3, 2024

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter JULY 2024

Rachel Stern2024-08-11T05:49:52-04:00July 3rd, 2024|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter JULY 2024

Dear Friends, This month, we have two very special online programs for you before we take a short summer break in August. But first of all, we are excited to share with you our 2023 program report (please click on the image): PROGRAM REPORT 2023 Still hurting from the aftermath of COVID, we are proud of the exhibitions and programs we were able to organize in 2023, and your feedback proves that we are doing something right. But we need your help. This summer, we aim to raise $6,000.00 to support our virtual fall programming. This year is the 10th anniversary of The Fritz Ascher Society. If you want to honor this momentous occasion [...]

Jun 2, 2024

Art and Internment.
Heinz Henghes the Stowaway Sculptor
Presentation by Ian Henghes, London (UK)

Rachel Stern2024-06-19T14:37:38-04:00June 2nd, 2024|Events, Lectures, Past Events|Comments Off on Art and Internment.
Heinz Henghes the Stowaway Sculptor
Presentation by Ian Henghes, London (UK)

Heinz Henghes (1906-1975) was born in Hamburg in 1906, a ‘Mischling’ of mixed Jewish and German descent. In America for almost 10 years before returning to Europe at a time of great political unrest Heinz spent time in Italy where he enjoyed the patronage of Ezra Pound, despite Pounds noted anti-semitism. In London at the outbreak of war Heinz was interned and sent to Australia on the notorious ship the Dunera. Ian Henghes, the artist's son, presents his father’s extraordinary story and the contact he had with other artists, writers and thinkers of his time. Image above: Heinz Henghes in Milan studio ca 1935 © Ian Henghes Ian Henghes is an online communications specialist working [...]

May 30, 2024

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter JUNE 2024

Rachel Stern2024-05-30T10:22:55-04:00May 30th, 2024|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter JUNE 2024

We have a special film for you, and you don't even have to leave your house to see it! Watch the film THE WILD ONE before June 5th on your home device. A link will be provided to all who register. Then join us as Chantal Perrin, the film’s French producer, speaks with Ori Z Soltes from Georgetown University in Washington DC. A link will be provided to all who register: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, ONLINE From Auschwitz to Hollywood: Jack Garfein, “THE WILD ONE” Film Screening and Conversation with French producer Chantal Perrin REGISTRATION FOR FREE FILM SCREENING AND ONLINE FILM DISCUSSION THE WILD ONE illuminates the journey of unsung artist Jack Garfein [...]

May 28, 2024

From Auschwitz to Hollywood: Jack Garfein, “THE WILD ONE”
Film Screening and Conversation with French producer Chantal Perrin

Rachel Stern2024-06-06T07:46:23-04:00May 28th, 2024|Events, Lectures, Past Events|Comments Off on From Auschwitz to Hollywood: Jack Garfein, “THE WILD ONE”
Film Screening and Conversation with French producer Chantal Perrin

THE WILD ONE illuminates the journey of unsung artist Jack Garfein (1930-2019) - Holocaust survivor, celebrated Broadway director, Actors Studio West co-founder, and controversial filmmaker. The film examines how his experience in Nazi concentration camps shaped his vision of acting as a survival mechanism and propelled his engagement with themes of violence, power, and racism in postwar America in two explosive films: THE STRANGE ONE (1957) and SOMETHING WILD (1961). THE WILD ONE explores the importance of his legacy as an artist who confronted censorship and reveals how art can draw on personal memory to better enlighten our present. Image above: Photo of Jack Garfein. Courtesy of Petite Maison Production WATCH THE TRAILER: [...]

May 1, 2024

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter MAY 2024

Rachel Stern2024-05-30T10:01:32-04:00May 1st, 2024|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter MAY 2024

May is American Jewish Heritage Month, and in our virtual series “Flight or Fight. stories of artists under repression” we are discussing two fabulous artists, who both immigrated to the United States and lived in New York. Please note the unusual 7:00pm EST time of the first event, which accommodates the Hong Kong time zone of one of our speakers. I hope that you'll be comfortable by now to register for events via our new system. Please be aware that all virtual events are FREE OF CHARGE. However, we very much appreciate each and every donation. WEDNESDAY, May 8 ONLINE 7:00 PM EST "Let's Talk Interesting People:" THE STORY OF ERNA FRIEDLÄNDER (1890-1979) REGISTER FOR THIS ONLINE [...]

Apr 17, 2024

“Let’s Talk of Interesting People”:
The Story of Erna Friedländer (1890-1979)
With Noit Banai, PhD, Hong Kong, and Ketul Arnold, Boulder (Colorado)

Rachel Stern2024-05-08T21:07:06-04:00April 17th, 2024|Events, Lectures, Past Events|Comments Off on “Let’s Talk of Interesting People”:
The Story of Erna Friedländer (1890-1979)
With Noit Banai, PhD, Hong Kong, and Ketul Arnold, Boulder (Colorado)

This presentation by Noit Banai, PhD, Hong Kong, and Ketul Arnold, Boulder (Colorado), traces Erna Friedländer‘s unique journey as a German refugee who survived Nazi persecution and World War II in Hong Kong, and subsequently migrated to England, Israel, and the USA. Image above: Erna Friedländer, Chinese Landscape. Undated. Monotype. Courtesy The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art, London As a German refugee who survived World War II in Hong Kong, and subsequently migrated to England, Israel, and the USA, Erna Friedländer’s journey is unique among the many histories of Jewish dispossession. Though few traces remain of Friedländer artistic oeuvre, she was a thoroughly modernist artist. Painter, printmaker, and teacher at the [...]

Apr 2, 2024

Steinberg before STEINBERG
Lecture by Mario Tedeschini Lalli, Rome (Italy)

Rachel Stern2024-05-22T13:55:25-04:00April 2nd, 2024|Events, Lectures, Past Events|Comments Off on Steinberg before STEINBERG
Lecture by Mario Tedeschini Lalli, Rome (Italy)

In this presentation Mario Tedeschini Lalli, Italian journalist and scholar of 20th century history, tells the story of Saul Steinberg, before he became STEINBERG, the majuscules with which he signed his name to the art most people know, using some of his public art, some of his clandestine art, some of his personal art and - yes – some of his top secret art. Image above: Saul Steinberg, Seaside, 1941. © The Saul Steinberg Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York The art of Saul Steinberg (1914-1999) was arguably one of the most recognizable for the US public from the mid-1940s until his death in 1999. Much of Steinberg’s best-known work appeared in magazines such as [...]