Fishel Rabinowicz – How He Survived The Holocaust
Fishel Rabinowicz, born 1924 in Sosnowiec (Poland)
Photos: Hannah Scharnagl, © NGU
We received an invitation: the artist Fishel Rabinowicz (95), who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, spoke about his life and work at Israelitische Cultusgemeinde Zurich on Sunday evening, June 2nd.
The encounter with Fishel Rabinowicz and his art cannot leave anyone indifferent, only if their soul is dead. The testimony of his life is extremely dramatic. It is the testimony of a man who had to go through the hell of Holocaust because the German Nazi soul revelled in the most atrocious crimes, in the most evil acts of destruction, in the most revolting forms of contempt and humiliation, while gaining satisfaction from mass murder. “That was once upon a time”, says the ignoramus, wanting to draw a line under it. A line? How, if it still latently proliferates in the radical malice of thoughts, of words, and of actions today?
The art of Fishel Rabinowicz finds its origin in the source of life, of overcoming – overcoming in order to live at all. His works are not only an inspiration, but give you the key to a door that opens ever wider, only to return to the genius of simplicity. His message is a call to repentance and vigilance, a solution for overcoming the deepest forms of darkness. Fishel Rabinowicz – an encounter that one cannot forget.
– Katharine Siegling, Pres. NGU –
Shoah, 1992
The central Hebrew letter shin is split on the ground and isolates the inner letter vav, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which represents the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. The text on the right begins the prayer for the deceased, the Kaddish. The triangular forms continue the prayer.
The Witness, 1993
The squares in the form of two columns surround the tumbling letters of the opening verse of the prayer Shema Yisrael: “Hear Israel! God, our Lord, is one God.” Two large letters are highlighted, which together form the Hebrew word Ed (witness). It stands for the position of Fishel Rabinowicz as a witness of the Holocaust.
Survivor, 1994
In this personal work, the frame with the falling letters represents the chaos of the Holocaust. The letter Aleph in the upper right corner symbolizes Rabinowicz, who has separated himself temporally and physically from it. Whereas a part of the letter remains within the frame, since the survivor is forever marked by what he has experienced.
Gallery
In cooperation with
In support of the Gamaraal Foundation, we would like to make donation details available to you here. Since its establishment in 2014, the Swiss Foundation has been standing up for poor and needy people who survived the Holocaust, by providing financial support and helping them to cope with their unimaginable traumas. As a long-term goal, it is also committed to the lasting promotion of Holocaust education and to the prevention of genocide. You have the opportunity to donate here to support the foundation’s causes or to transfer your gift to the following donations account: CH98 0023 0230 5643 4840V
More information is available here:
www.gamaraal.com
www.holocaust-artist.org
www.last-swiss-holocaust-survivors.ch