Ludwig Meidner, the noted Jewish painter, died here at the age of 82 after a career which included his release from the Dachau death camp through intervention of his British disciples and friends.
Born in Silesia, he studied art in Breslau. From 1907 he lived and worked in Berlin where he established himself as one of the leading painters of his time. He was also a poet and essayist of considerable stature. After the Nazis released him, he lived in Britain, starting in 1939. In 1953, he returned to Germany where his 70th birthday was celebrated with a retrospective exhibit and widespread public acclaim.
A portrait of Dr. Theodore Heuss, the first president of the West German federal republic, which hangs in the building of West Germany’s Parliament, was painted by Meidner. A deeply religious and meticulously observant Jew, he left a widow, Else Meidner, who is also a painter, and a son who lives in a Mizrachi kibbutz in Israel.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
