Félix ROITMAN
January 3, 2019
Issachar RYBACK
January 3, 2019

Abraham ROSENBAUM

RADOM (POLAND) 1891 – DEPORTED TO AUSCHWITZ 1942

Abraham Rosenbaum’s father was a waiter. Abraham grew up in Radom and decided to go study in Warsaw where he joined a school of arts and crafts. His drawings caught the attention of one of his professors, who got him a scholarship to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He arrived in Paris in 1923. Since his scholarship did not suffice, he worked as a photo retoucher to earn his living. He also engraved bronze for the arms factory and the Mint, where coins for currency were manufactured. He lived an active Parisian life and spent time at the cafés in Montparnasse. He painted and drew after work. He used to visit his friend the writer Wolf Wieworka, for whom he painted the portrait of his daughter Tema. He often used pastels and produces some sculptures. On July 16, 1942, he was arrested by French police officers during the Vel d’Hiv roundup. He was deported and murdered in Auschwitz.

Stories of Jewish Artists of the School of Paris 1905-1939

FRENCH-ENGLISH

Capitale des arts, le Paris des années 1905-1939 attire les artistes du monde entier. De cette période de foisonnement, un terme est resté, celui d'Ecole de Paris, qui recouvre une grande diversité d'expression artistique. Dans ce brassage dont Montparnasse est le creuset, un groupe se distingue : celui des artistes juifs venus de Russie, de Pologne et d'Europe centrale. Si leurs styles sont variés, un destin commun les rassemble : ils fuient l'antisémitisme de leur pays d'origine. Certains ont connu la célébrité dès les années 1920, tels Soutine, Lipchitz ou Chagall. D'autres n'ont pas eu le temps ou la chance d'y accéder. Près de la moitié a péri dans les camps de concentration nazis.

From 1905 to 1939, Paris attracted artists from all over the globe as the capital of the art world. This period of artistic proliferation became known as the School of Paris, and includes a great diversity of artistic expression. Within the teeming art world centred on Montparnasse, one group set itself apart: Jewish artists from Russia, Poland, and Central Europe. Although their styles were diverse, they shared the common fate of fleeing anti-Semitic persecutions in their home countries. Some became famous in the 1920s, such as Soutine, Lipchitz, and Chagall, while others did not have the time or the luck to gain renown. Nearly half of these artists died in Nazi concentration camps.