Holzsynagoge in Zabludowo 17. Jahrh. [”The 17th Century Wooden Synagogue of Zabludow.”]

BERGEL, ALFRED.

Theresienstadt, 1944

Watercolor. Signed and dated by the artist in pencil lower right. Original framed.

Born in Olomouc, Moravia, artist and physician Alfred Bergel (1902-44) studied at the Academy of Art, Vienna. Following the Nazi Anschluss Bergel was deported to Theresienstadt where he became a central cultural figure. The Theresienstadt Ghetto included a community of approximately 70 artists, where Bergel was able to continue to produce his artwork, lecture and give art lessons despite inhumane conditions. In 1944 he was transferred on the infamous artists transport to Auschwitz where he was murdered upon arrival. Few examples of Bergel’s artwork remain extant. The Wooden Synagogue of Zabludow (Białystok district of northeast Poland) was built in the 1630’s and was one of the most remarkable specimens of that unique form of synagogue architecture. When the Nazis overtook the town Zabludow on the 25th June 1941, they burned down its central part, including the famed synagogue.