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The art collection at Yad Vashem is the most comprehensive collection of art related to the Holocaust. Most of the works at the Yad Vashem Art Museum were created in ghettos, camps, forests or while the artists were in hiding. They document daily life during the Holocaust and provide a glimpse into the artists’ internal worlds. Despite the harsh living conditions and constant struggle to survive, these artists were resourceful enough to overcome their lack of art supplies, and expressed their mental strength and will to live through their drawings. While the artworks reflect a wide range of styles and themes, they all reflect the strength of the human spirit that refuses to surrender. Ben Zion (Nolik) Schmidt (Kovno, 1926 – Kovno Ghetto, 1944) The Evacuation, Kovno Ghetto, 1942 Watercolor and ink on paper 14 x 9.1 cm Donated by Pnina and Avraham Tory (Tory collection), Israel In August 1941, at the age of 14, Schmidt was sent to the Kovno Ghetto, where he worked in the graphics shop. He was shot to death and his body burned when the ghetto was eliminated on July 13, 1944. Of all the works Schmidt created while in the ghetto, only one survived, after it was hidden in the basement of a renovations workshop along with other papers documenting life in the ghetto. Schmidt portrayed the Jews of Kovno Ghetto who were swiftly evacuated from their homes in January 1942, to make way for incoming Jews expelled from Germany. Their faces reflect fear and helplessness, and their clothes attest to the bitterly cold weather they faced on that day. To all Philatelic items issued on April 2022
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