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Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum (Archive)
Last update - 09:01 05/03/2008
Israel, Ukraine deal lets Yad Vashem exhibit Holocaust artist's work
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: bruno schulz, yad vashem 

Frescoes painted by the Polish-Jewish artist and author Bruno Schulz during the Holocaust and controversially brought to Israel from Ukraine in 2001 will be exhibited this summer at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

The decision follows an agreement reached last week between the Israeli and Ukrainian governments.

The disclosure that the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority had acquired the works and transported them to Israel, in violation of Ukrainian law and without the knowledge of local authorities, caused a public and diplomatic uproar in Ukraine in May 2001.
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Schulz was forced by Gestapo officer Felix Landau to paint the frescoes on the walls of Landau's home in Drohobycz, Galicia (now called Drogobych and located within Ukraine), for the enjoyment of the officer's children. Shulz was shot to death in 1942 by another SS officer, Karl Gunther, in retaliation for Landau's murder of a Jew who was under Gunther's protection.

The five murals were discovered by a Ukrainian peasant a decade ago. Yad Vashem claims the works were in a state of advanced neglect and disrepair and that they were purchased legally and removed with the blessing and approval of the city's mayor. The Ukraine government, however, insisted that there was no legal basis for the frescoes' removal from the country. As a result of the disagreement, the paintings have never been exhibited in public.

The agreement over the murals' presence in Israel was effected following the visit by President Victor Yushchenko to Israel in November. During his visit, Yushchenko proposed a number of gestures aimed at changing his country's anti-Semitic image in order to improve its chances of acceptance into the European Union and NATO.

According to the agreement, which was signed by Foreign Minister Deputy Director General Pinchas Avivi and Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel, Ihor Tymofieiev, in the presence of Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister, Ivan Vasyunik, the paintings will be recognized as the property and cultural wealth of Ukraine. They will be on temporary loan to Yad Vashem for 20 years, after which the loan will be automatically renewed every five years.

Representatives from Ukraine's foreign affairs and culture ministries inspected the frescoes and confirmed their authenticity as well as their condition. The murals are currently undergoing a complex restoration process. Yad Vashem officials believe they will be ready for display when the exhibition opens, in about four months.

"The frescoes that Schulz was forced by the Nazi officer Landau to paint before he was murdered are the product of forced labor carried out during the Holocaust and as such constitute testimony to all intents and purposes," a statement issued by Yad Vashem said.

Related articles:
  • The Holocaust is ours
  • Ongoing talks between Yad Vashem, Ukraine may solve fresco crisis
  • Ukraine president vows before Knesset to combat anti-Semitism
  • Ukraine to seek Israeli recognition for 1930s genocide
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      1.   Shouldn`t Ukraine pay reparations rather than claiming jewish art 05:46  |  bernard ross 05/03/08
      2.   Not Galicia but Poland 09:51  |  Mark 05/03/08
      3.   Couldn`t you find a Schultz drawing to illustrate the article 09:56  |  Chanalau, Tova 05/03/08
      4.   Nazi-Art at Yad Vashem? 12:23  |  Kris 05/03/08
      5.   Ukraine "let"? 12:55  |  SA 05/03/08
      6.   a little legend 15:44  |  knut bergbauer 05/03/08
      7.   Bruno Schulz 21:40  |  Marek W. Podstolski 05/03/08
      8.   Bruno Schulz 21:53  |  Marek W. Podstolski 05/03/08
      9.   Bruno Schulz prose 22:56  |  Lisa Grant 05/03/08
      10.   Scandal re Bruno Schulz 21:05  |  Brian R.Banks 11/03/08
      11.   Bruno Schulz: Nazi-Art??? 21:14  |  Brian 11/03/08
      12.   Bruno Schulz 18:20  |  Mick 27/08/08
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