'Arbeit Macht Frei': Representations and Meanings in Art

by Batya Brutin

Overview

Arbeit Macht Frei focuses on the various representations, meanings, and interpretations of the infamous phrase in art. The origin of the expression recalls the novel by German philologist Lorenz Diefenbach (1806–1883) from 1873 and the Weimar Republic, but is most associated with the National Socialists, who used it at the entrances to six of their concentration camps. The Nazis employed the slogan to misdirect with contempt and irony, and to instill false hope in the minds of prisoners to help prevent resistance and insurrection.

Batya Brutin discusses Holocaust survivor artists and their descendants who are artists as well as others who use the well-known phrase in their artwork. These artists have used the inscription as a motif from a personal or general point of view to convey political messages, present values, or wrestle with universal perceptions. This is the first booklength treatment of this difficult yet necessary topic in art.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783111153117
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	06/12/2024
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.45(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Batya Brutin ist Kunsthistorikerin und forscht zu Kunst während und nach dem Holocaust sowie zu Holocaust-Denkmälern in Israel und weltweit. 2000–2018 war sie Direktorin des Holocaust Teaching in Israeli Society Program am Beit Berl Academic College in Israel. Sie ist wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Lehrstuhl für Holocaustforschung von Abraham und Edita Spiegel an der Bar-Ilan-Universität. Batya Brutin hat Bücher, Aufsätze und Lehrmaterial zu o.g. Themen veröffentlicht und erhielt 2018 den Yad-Vashem-Preis für ihr Lebenswerk auf dem Gebiet der Holocaust-Erziehung.

Batya Brutin is an art historian researching art during and after the Holocaust, and Holocaust monuments in Israel and worldwide. From 2000 to 2018 she was director of the Holocaust Teaching in Israeli Society Program at Beit Berl Academic College in Israel. She is a research associate at the Chair for Holocaust Research Abraham and Edita Spiegel, Bar-Ilan University. Batya Brutin has published academic books, essays, and educational materials on the above subjects. She received the Yad Vashem award for a lifetime achievement in the field of Holocaust education in 2018.