Monday, May 14, 2007

Felix Nussbaum

Artist Felix Nussbaum was born in Osnabrueck, Germany, and moved to Belgium in 1935. In 1940, he was arrested by the Nazis, but escaped, and lived in hiding in Brussels until he was caught again in 1944 and sent to Auschwitz. Felix Nussbaum's best-known painting  "Self-Portrait with Jewish Identity Card." shows a frightened Jew with a yellow badge near cement walls under dark sky with black birds and a tree without leaves. This Jew holds an ID card with erased birthplace, nationality marked "None," and "JUIF-JOOD" printed in red.

But The Heavens Remained Closed

Yellow Badge Israeli art Photo of a yellow Star of David with praying Jews is courtesy of artist and Dr Martin Kieselstein who published it in his book We Have No other Land under the title Jews sent their prayers to the heavens, but the heavens remained closed.

Yellow Badge, Testimony of a Jewish Girl

Yellow Badge israeli art Photo is courtesy of Artist and Doctor Martin Kieselstein who published it in his book We Have No Other Land under the title The Yellow Star.

Here’s a testimony of a Jewish girl about the Yellow Badge
Eva Heyman, diary entry (31st March, 1944)

Today an order was issued that from now on Jews have to wear a yellow star-shaped patch. The order tells exactly how big the star patch must be, and that it must be sewn on every outer garment, jacket or coat…
Source: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=9656