Frederika "Friedl" Dicker-Brandeis (30 July 1898, Vienna – 9 October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau), was an Austrian artist, designer and educator murdered by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in the

Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...

. From 1919-1923 she was a student at the

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

Biography

Frederika Dicker was born in Vienna on 30 July 1898, into a poor Jewish family. Her father was a shop-assistant; her mother, Karolina, died in 1902. She married Pavel Brandeis in 1936 and used the hyphenated surname after that. Dicker-Brandeis was a student of Johannes Itten at his private school in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and later followed Itten to study and teach at the

. After completing the obligatory one semester Bauhaus Preliminary Course, Dicker was accepted as a student. She was recognised as an exceptionally gifted student, such that throughout her time at the

she was not required to pay some tuition fees, given scholarship funds and granted a studio in the autumn of 1921. She was involved in the textile design, printmaking, bookbinding, and typography workshops there from 1919-1923. After leaving the Bauhaus, she worked as an artist and textile designer in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, and

Hronov Hronov () is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,100 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of writer Alois Jirásek. Administrative division Hronov consists of six municipal parts (i ...

. Dicker-Brandeis wrote to a friend in 1940:

In World War II

Dicker-Brandeis and her husband, Pavel Brandeis, were deported to the

Terezín Terezín (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town. The town centre i ...

"model ghetto" on December 17, 1942. During her time at Terezín, she gave art lessons and lectures with art supplies she smuggled into the camp. She helped to organize secret education classes for the 600 children of Terezín. She saw drawing and art as a way for the children to understand their emotions and their environment. Dicker-Brandeis insisted that each child must sign their own name, not allowing them to become invisible or anonymous. In this, she persisted in pursuing her goal "to rouse the desire towards creative work." In September 1944, Brandeis was transported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

. Dicker-Brandeis volunteered for the next transport to join him. Before she was taken away, she entrusted Raja Engländerova, chief tutor of Girls' Home L 410, with two suitcases containing 4,500 drawings. Dicker-Brandeis was murdered in

Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

on 9 October 1944. Her husband survived.

Legacy

After the war, Willy Groag, director of the Girls' home L 410, brought the suitcases with children's drawings to the Jewish Community in

. From the nearly 660 authors of the drawings, 550 were murdered in the Holocaust. The drawings are now in the Jewish Museum in Prague's collection, with some on display in the Pinkas Synagogue. In 1999, an exhibition of Dicker-Brandeis' work, organized by the

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...

and curated by Elena Makarova of Israel, opened in Vienna. It then toured to the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, France, USA, and Japan. Her work was included in the 2019 exhibition ''City Of Women: Female Artists in Vienna from 1900 to 1938'' at the

Österreichische Galerie Belvedere The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere is a museum housed in the Belvedere (palace), Belvedere palace, in Vienna, Austria. The Belvedere palaces were the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736). The ensemble was built in the ear ...

Gallery

Friedl Dicker-Brandeis - Vyslech I.jpg, ''Výslech I'' Friedl Dicker-Brandeis - Nádraží.jpg, ''Nádraží''

References

Bibliography

* Susan Goldman Rubin: ''Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the Children of Terezin'', Holiday House Inc New York, 2000, * Elena Makarova: ''Friedl, Dicker-Brandeis, Vienna 1898- Auschwitz 1944: the artist who inspired the children's drawings of Terezin ", 1st edition. Tallfellow/Every Picture Press, in association with

/Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, 2001,

External links

*
Entry in Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia

More about Friedl Dicker-Brandeis

Jewish Museum (1109 Fifth Avenue, New York City) from September 10, 2004 to January 16, 2005
* http://makarovainit.com/friedl/home.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20101215004606/http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/en/afdb.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20140116202409/http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/exhibitions/FDB
Documents about Friedl Dicker-Brandeis
in the collection of th
Jewish Museum Prague
.

in

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dicker-Brandeis, Friedl 1898 births 1944 deaths Austrian people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Bauhaus alumni Austrian expatriates in Germany Austrian expatriates in Czechoslovakia Czech Jews Jewish Czech painters Jewish Austrian painters Artists from Vienna Theresienstadt Ghetto prisoners Austrian civilians killed in World War II Austrian schoolteachers 20th-century Austrian women painters Austrian Jews who died in the Holocaust Jewish women painters