Capturing the Ghetto. Artistic Portrayals of Everyday Life in the Łódź Ghetto

The exhibition “Capturing the Ghetto. Artistic Portrayals of Everyday Life in the Łódź Ghetto” accompanies the 80th anniversary of the liquidation of the ghetto in occupied Łódź. The exhibition presents various aspects of the extremely difficult life of Jews in the “closed district” created by the Germans. Everyday life in the ghetto was shown through the collections of the Jewish Historical Institute: original paintings and drawings made in the ghetto – primarily by Józef Kowner, Izrael Lejzerowicz and Icchok Brauner – as well as objects created in the ghetto using various techniques.

Some of the drawings and paintings are fully refined works inspired by the observation of everyday life. Others seem to be spontaneous recordings of reality or reportage. Still others were commissioned by the Jewish administration, and their aim was to convince the Germans of the usefulness of the work of the Jews of Łódź; they are an expression of false hope for salvation.

All these exhibits present the everyday life of the ghetto and the circumstances in which they were created. Of particular importance are those works that artists made out of an internal need to document the realities experienced by thousands of Jews. They are an expression of resistance to the borderline situation in which their creators found themselves, an attempt to save life and preserve humanity.

Curators of the Exhibiton: Dr. Jakub Bendkowski & Dr. Zofia Trębacz