Arma Galleries announced today the opening on Monday of an exhibition through June depicting art that is representative of European Jewish life in the small’ town or “shtetl” prior to and during the Nazi implementation of its “final solution” of liquidating Jews and other peoples. This major thrust by the Nazis began in 1943, 30 years ago.
The first art exhibit of its kind in the United States, four artists are represented in this exhibit, all of whom are originally Eastern Europeans, whose lives were substantially altered and changed by this Nazi holocaust. Their representative works, done in the media of oils as well as sculpture contrast life prior to and during these events.
Solomon Barat, gallery director, stated, “We are offering this exhibit marking the 30th anniversary of the destruction of European Jewry with the hope that this provocative exhibit will remind the older generations of that which they must never forget. At the same time we hope this exhibition will teach the younger generations what happens when madness achieves political power and therefore defend against the possibility of this ever happening again any where in the world Barat was born in Poland, spent the war years in a Polish concentration camp, and after World War II emigrated to the United States.
The four artists, all born in Eastern Europe, today are residents and citizens of the United States. They are Ari. born in the Ukraine; Paula Metzner, born in Poland; A.L. Lass born in Poland; and Nicolas Holodyk, born in the Ukraine. Holodyk’s works have been exhibited in Buenos Aires. The works of the other three have been shown widely throughout the United States.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
