This gallery is dedicated to the atrocities of World War II and the Holocaust. All of the artwork was created in the time period of these two historical events, with dates ranging from 1941 to 1947. The artists behind these works of art gathered their inspiration from many different countries all over the world that faced the treacherous years of World War II and the Holocaust. The intent of this gallery is to focus on the devastations that came to the ordinary people of this time period. Many of these pieces were inspired by families being uprooted from their homes, their belongings being thrown out, and their children being discriminated against. Also found in this gallery are works of art dealing with the death of many innocent people and the aftermath that the war and the Holocaust brought upon these countries.
A boy stands by a cart loaded with luggage for the transport, 1941-1943, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague
This photograph was captured by a group of anonymous Jewish deportees. It is a photograph of a young boy being uprooted from his home. During the Holocaust, Jews were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps and ghettoes. The young boy in his photograph is leaving this home and is being sent to one of these treacherous place, only being able to take few necessities with him. Most children his age were separated from their parents while on the move.
Terezin, Troller, Norbert, 1943, From the collection of: Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History
This drawing was created by Norbert Troller in 1943. Troller was born in Austria-Hungary. Upon German invasion, he was deported to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp. Two years later, he was taken prisoner by the Gestapo and ended up at Auschwitz concentration camp. His drawing portrays two crowds, one moving away from the viewer and the other moving towards the viewer. Troller captioned this photo: "50,000 Jews trapped in the ramparts of ghetto-kiz fortress Terezin inches F-58." From this caption, it becomes apparent that these are Jews, taken captive by the Nazis, being moved into Terezin, also known as Theresienstadt, a concentration camp.
Junk Furniture, Terezin, Troller, Norbert, 1943, From the collection of: Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History
This drawing by Norbert Troller is from 1943. It depicts a courtyard space filled with furniture that has been tossed around with no care given. The caption along the bottom of the picture says: "1943, came trainloads of the oldest junk furniture of former Jewish apartments, nobody was interested in it in Praha. Chests without doors or drawers, chairs with 2 or 3 feet, tables without legs, etc. We used and repaired all." The damaged furniture was taken from the abandoned Jewish homes in Praha, also known as Prague. It was all thrown into the courtyard, which represents the desolation of the Jewish towns after the invasion of the Nazis.
The mockers, Arthur Boyd, (1945), From the collection of: Art Gallery of New South Wales
This oil on canvas by Arthur Boyd is from a group of 15 paintings that Boyd made after he was discharged from the army. Boyd painted because he was trying to find an answer for the atrocities and chaos that he had observed throughout the war. This painting depicts a crowded, hateful group. The group is filled with yelling, finger pointing, and attacking, representing Boyd's image of the war.
This photograph depicts a sign from a children's playground in Prague. After Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, Jews quickly began to lose their rights. They were taken from their homes, stolen from, and forbidden from entering public places. This sign prohibits children from entering this playground. It is symbolic of the Holocaust because it shows that even children were stripped of their rights and were ridiculed.
Postcard from the Theresienstadt Ghetto, Otto Taussig, 1942-05-18, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague
This image is that of a postcard from the Terezin ghetto. This ghetto was one of few that allowed inmates to write and receive postcards, but all of the mail was heavily censored by the Nazis. This postcard is from 1942,and a man named Otto Taussig writes that he has pneumonia and his uncle had died. A year later, Otto was taken from his wife and children and sent to Auschwitz death camp, where he was killed. His family later died.
British Women and Children Interned in a Japanese Prison Camp, Syme Road, Singapore, Cole, Leslie, 1945, From the collection of: Imperial War Museums
This painting was created by Leslie Cole in 1945. It portrays a Japanese internment camp filled with British women and children. The figures are emaciated, the room is filthy, and Cole uses yellows and greens to show the horrible condition in which these people were living. The hollowed eyes and stick legs of the children are horrifying to see, but they speak volumes about how abysmal the lives of the inmates were.
Waiting for the Train on the Anhalter Bahnhof, Berlin. December 1945, Kessell, Mary, 1945, From the collection of: Imperial War Museums
This drawing was created by Mary Kessell in 1945. Kessell was an official war artist for the War Artists Advisory Committee. She was sent to Germany to draw pictures of the millions of refugees trying to cope with the aftermath of the war. In this drawing, she depicts a family waiting for a train at a Berlin railway station. In her journal, she writes about the mass of people that were waiting and hoping for a train to pick them up. She describes the filth and chaos of these refugees, and she accurately portrays it in this dark drawing.
Blind man in Belsen, Alan Moore, 1947, From the collection of: Australian War Memorial
This piece of art was created in 1947 by Alan Moore, an Australian official war artist. He created art that reflected the atrocities of the war that he was witnessing first hand. Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp that housed thousand of prisoners of war, and over 50,000 of these prisoners died. Many of the Jews, Poles, and Czechs that were being held here died from illnesses because the concentration camps were in horrible conditions. Moore has 18 works of art at the Australian War Memorial, all of which are images he created from witnessing the Holocaust. This piece of art shows a blind man in the concentration camp, surrounded by skeletons and other dying captives.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
