Art from the Lodz Ghetto - a Talk by Jennifer Stern

Jennifer Stern will talk about some of the extraordinary artworks that survive from the World War II-era ghetto in Lodz, Poland. 

The ghetto was created by the Nazis in 1940. By the time it was “liquidated” in 1944, more than 200,000 Jews had been imprisoned there. Around 45,000 died of hunger and disease. Most who were still alive in 1944 were deported to Auschwitz or Chelmno and murdered.

But the Lodz ghetto was run in an unusual way, and there were some surprising opportunities for imprisoned artists to make paintings, drawings and decorative metal objects. Come hear about these amazing visual treasures, and what they teach us about Jewish endurance in horrific conditions.

Jennifer Stern lives near Boston, Massachusetts. She has an MA in Art History from Yale University, and worked for 26 years in the Art History department at Brandeis University. She writes about art and culture in English and Yiddish for the Forverts.