the ASPect - American School of Paris

visiting author /17
butterfly
The power of the individual
By Lukas Papenfusscline (Grade 12)
The human spirit and ideas represented by art can never
be destroyed even by the greatest tragedies. Thousands of
plays, songs, operas, drawings and other works of art were
created by Jews during World War II which expressed their
experiences in the midst of atrocities they endured.
Much was lost through destruction and the death of
artists during the Holocaust, yet much survived to inspire
generations. Artist Helga Weissova, now 82, diligently
expressed her experiences and what she witnessed in
concentration camps with drawings and paintings beginning
at the age of 12, and continues to this day to create
haunting, shocking works of her experiences in Terezin in
her native Czechoslovakia and later Auschwitz, Freiberg and
Mauthausen. Her art gives us a glimpse of the horrors of dayto-day
life in the camps, but is also a testament to the power
of the individual and the power of art.
The art created by Jews in World War II was a rebellious blow
against evil. Songs performed for the King of Denmark and
the visiting Red Cross at Terezin boldly expressed inmates’
suffering through the clever use of double entendres and
hidden meanings. Many children also spent their days
Helga with US teacher Chris Friendly during her visit to Le Louvre.
writing poems which were rarely sad but rather focused on
the beauty of life in the midst of suffering and the love they
felt for one another and about their longed-for futures. Even
Helga’s drawings were not always sad. She often drew what
she hoped to do after the war, where she hoped to be and
with whom.
I traveled to Terezin with a group of ASP students when I
was in eighth grade with Gillian Lynch and Cora Enard. I
was shocked by the horrors of the Holocaust that survivors
talked about — of the boxes of ashes of victims thrown in
the river as the allies approached the camp, the dreadful
living conditions, ever-changing laws and grueling work
conditions. But my overwhelming feeling was one of
inspiration and admiration for the strength of people like
Helga who endured so much and lived to bear witness to
an appalling period of history and still keep faith and love
intact. I was struck by the power that art can have in such
a defeatist place. Art raised hopes, helped express love,
hate and frustration, and nurtured a human community that
strengthened support and perseverance.
The Aspect - November 2010