Art And The Holocaust : Spiritual Resistance In Terez�n

Imagine living through a time where you are persecuted for your religious beliefs, would you be able to practice spiritual resistance? For Jewish people this was a daily dilemma they faced in death camps, ghettos, or in hiding during the Holocaust. This may seem like a difficult decision, but for many brave Jews, all they had left was their faith. Some of the very dedicated and brave made it their mission to record the tragedies of everyday life during the Holocaust. Those same courageous people fought to keep the Jewish faith existing. Spiritual and cultural resistance is important to preserve the history and hope of the Jewish people and document what happened in the Holocaust.

“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.” - John F. Kennedy

In the poem, The Little Polish Boy Standing With His Arms Up, by Peter L. Fischl, the author informs the reader that the world should have seen the horrible and dehumanizing behavior of the Nazis and their Nazi machine gun bullets. In the poem, the little Polish boy represents all of the Jews that were being held concentration camps and those that had to endure the severe brutality and torture from the Nazis. In order to draw attention to the inhumanity of the German society at that time, Fischl advises the reader that he would paint a picture, “A painting so bright to blind the eyes of the world” (Stanza 11) to remember the little Polish boy. Peter L. Fischl instinctively informs us about him want to make a concerto of

Many characters’ lives are enveloped by a mental issue and they are a representation for these issues. Art covers these multiple issues. The Holocaust affected millions of people and of these millions, Vladek, Anja, and Mala all were left with

An artist's job is to interpret, and express the aspects of life in a creative fashion. War has played a big part in shaping our human history, and many artists have portrayed their feelings about art through paintings, and even monuments. Whether it be to show; the joy of victory, the sorrow of defeat, or to educate the public on the gory realities of war. Art about war can also show us a great amount of history of the kinds of weapons that were used at the time. It is necessary for artists to interpret, and criticize all aspects of life; even ones as tragic as war, It can make the public more aware of what goes on in times of war.

The perception that all representations are limited in perfectly conveying the absolute past due to the subjectivity and specific purpose of the composer is an acknowledged idea drawn from post-modernist beliefs. In both Mark Baker’s The Fiftieth Gate and Art Spiegelman’s Maus, composers represent past events through making particular choices to communicate the interplay of both history and memory in order to gain a deeper understanding of the past as relevant to one’s identity in the present. Both texts are able to achieve an emotive representation of the Holocaust through memory to gain a deeper subjective understanding of their personal Jewish identity rather than to seek the conventional objective truth. They also successfully demonstrate the value of including historical validation when representing the Holocaust in gaining deeper understanding of how their past shapes their identity.

Many composers use various techniques in which they communicate the distinctly visual. John Misto’s ‘The Shoe-Horn Sonata’ and Alexander Kimel’s ‘The Action in the Ghetto of Rohatyn, March 1942’ represent significant issues in our world by using various literary and dramatic techniques. Through using these techniques it is evident that the composers of these texts allow the audience to ‘see’ with our eyes as well as with our minds. The many literary and dramatic techniques have the ability to create a visual that

Music is known to leave its mark on people helping them to overcome challenges in their lives or to give them courage to defy the odds. In one’s daily life, music is normally taken for granted or is seen as nothing special. As ordinary as it may seem, music can convey emotion in times when the body is numb or all hope is lost. Similarly, in The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, the cello’s music gave people hope and determination to live their lives in spite of the rampant siege around them. Therefore, music very much impacts the lives of the principal characters Dragan, Kenan, and Arrow.

The word Holocaust refers to the mass murder of 6 million European Jews by the German Nazi regime during World War II. It began in 1933 and ended in 1945. The ruler of Germany during this time was Adolf Hitler. He and the Nazis put the Jew in concentration camps, where thousands were killed everyday. This was one of the worst if not the worst genocides in history. Many books have been written to document survivors’ testimony of this horrific event. Elie Wiesel shares his story and Art Spiegelman shares his father’s story in the books Night and Maus. Comparisons can be drawn between Maus and Night through the author's purpose for writing , the survivor’s experiences, and the author's perspective.

Ossie Davis once said, “Any form of art is a form of power; it has an impact, it can affect change, it can not only move us, it makes us move”. Similarly, The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway tells the story of how three individuals Arrow, Dragan and Kenan suffering from the unrelenting and ruthlessness of war are impacted by one musician’s art. All three characters suffer from the war in different ways, but the art in the form of music finds a way to connect them all. Galloway’s novel illustrates that art helps lessen the suffering of those facing the brutality of war as the cellist’s music provides healing of the spirit, mind, and body. The cellist’s music provides hope and inspiration to the people of Sarajevo that they will be able

Throughout the German occupation of Poland during WWII, musicians and composers alike suffered under strict music censorship practices put in place to destroy the Polish peoples’ morale, dampen their nationalistic pride, and spread propaganda supporting the German regime. Composer Witold Lutosławski kept his deep love and pride for his nation and her people in the face of adversity, and through his music, fought the German occupation’s push to destroy the national music and traditions of Poland, and in the process, created a unique musical identity for himself. Lutosławski successfully kept the music of his nation alive, as well as inspiring not only Poland, but the people of other nations in the same controlling grip of governmental music

The other thing that Terezín is known for is its role during WWII. Under Nazi occupation, the large camp became a ghetto for Jews transported from across the Reich Austria and Germany and the protectorate Bohemia and Moravia. Later it also housed Jews from further afield including Belgium, Holland and Russia.It was this ghetto that was dressed up to fool the international Red Cross as late as 1944 that Nazi Germany had its Jewish citizens interests at heart. International monitors were shown a thriving Jewish community complete with shops and music performances and a limited system of self government. The Jews in this fence were of course performing threats and violence and were just as likely to end up in the concentration death camps of Poland as any

Before hearing this lecture, I had no concept of the types of music in concentration camps, much less a sense of the music within World War II. The lecture taught me how music and the arts are something that can’t ever be stopped. Even though it’s not mandatory for human life or a lucrative career it has permanently etched a place inside of culture and the continuation of history.

”One of the highest aims of art is the creation of unrest” – Ivan Jirous

Music is a very powerful tool. It has the power to bring happiness or sorrow. It can stir up old memories that someone has forgotten. In Berlioz’s case he uses one of his most famous pieces, Symphonie Fantastique to tell a story. Berlioz combines the use of instrumentation, rhythm and dynamics in a stunningly effective way that conveys to the listener a tragic tale of an artist, whose true love didn’t reciprocate his feelings leading him down a path of self destruction.