The Art of Auschwitz

During the mass killing in Auschwitz, inmates who produced clandestine artwork did so while risking their lives. The artists used their paintings to express their own humanity. Some inmate art was sanctioned by the camp or ghetto authorities. Nazi officials used talented artists to produce personal items for them. The picture above shows inmate David Olère adding flowered decorations to a letter for an SS officer.

The art was drawn by adults and children alike. Most were discovered at the liberation of the camp which found hundreds of pieces of artwork. Conditions in some German internment camps actually allowed artists freedom to continue working. Joseph Nassy, a black artist of Jewish descent, was able to produce more than 200 drawings and paintings during his three-year internment at Laufen and Tittmoning camps in Bavaria.

Lots of the art was drawn in secret, usually in washrooms or on ceilings. There aren't many  examples of this art, but there are a few here:

Sources:
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/gallery/FWALL.htm
http://archiegirl28.tripod.com/id6.html

Interactive map of Auschwitz:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/auschwitz_map/index_embed.shtml



Painting of the 'King's canal' on a ceiling. Painter unknown.




Camels and pyramids. Painting from block 14
in Auschwitz




Cherubs. Washroom in Auschwitz
block 7.

Horse back riders from the same washroom as
cherubs.