Two illustrated posters by the Central Historical Commission at the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the American Zone of Occupation in Germany, Munich, 1947-1948.
1. Helft schreiben di Geschichte von letzte Hurban [Yiddish: help writing the story of the last devastation]. Munich, 1947.
A poster calling for the documentation of testimonies from the time of the Holocaust, featuring an impressive illustration by "F. Schwatz" (signed and dated in print). Three figures appear in the illustration on the backdrop of a Barbed wire. At the front appear a pen, ink and an inkwell together with an open empty scroll, with only these words written on it: "It was in the days of…“ (Hebrew). The inscriptions are written in red ink.
42X58 cm. Good condition. Slight spotting. Folding marks. Tears around the folding marks. A tear of ca. 6 cm located at the upper part of the poster. Framed.
2. "Remember what Amalek did to you!" - Munich [probably 1948].
A poster with an impressive illustration by Pinchas Schuldenrein (signed in print), depicting the persecutions suffered by the Jewish people throughout the ages along with the books which were subsequently written on the subject: The enslavement in Egypt and the Passover Haggadah; the devastation of the temple and the Book of Lamentations; the events of 1648-49 and the book of Yaven Metzulah; the expulsion from Spain and the book Emek Habakha. The historical events are linked by clock hands, under which appears a drawing of a skeleton pointing to the symbolic number "6000000", a feather (for writing) and a line commanding: "Sammelt un Vorzeichnet" - collect and write-down, referring to the role of the Central Historical Committee in documenting the history of the Jews at the time of the Holocaust.
The artist Pinchas Schuldenrein was born in Poland and studied in the Warsaw Academy of Arts. After the Holocaust he established an art studio in the area of the displaced-persons camp in Zeilsheim with the aid of the JDC, where he created his famous work – "Yizkor". He gave some art lessons to children in the displaced-persons camps and his work was influenced by the Holocaust. In 1947 he immigrated to the USA and settled in New York. A few years later he changed his name to Paul Sharon. In New York he worked as an independent graphic artist and for the Schlesinger Brothers, until his death in 1998.
42X60 cm. Good condition. Folding marks. Slight spotting. Slight tears around the edges (around the folding marks). Framed.
The illustrations of both posters appears in the catalogue of the exhibition “From the Last Devastation – Von Letzten Hurban, Exhibition – Ausstellung”(Hebrew and Yiddish – printed by the Central Historical Committee, Munich, 1948). The illustration from the first poster appears on the cover of the catalogue. See also “Kedem”’s catalogue no. 31, item no. 429.