“Arbeit Macht Frei”, a portfolio of (16) drawings by Frantisek Reichental (1895-1971) documenting his experiences as a prisoner in Auschwitz during the final years of the Second World War. Published in Bra.tislava in 1946 by the Central Union of Jewish Communities as a way to raise money for the department of this organization caring for orphaned young children who had survived the Holocaust. With a brief preface (in English) by Vojtech Winterstein and then the (16) drawings on single-sided plates. From a stated edition of 5,000 examples only.(35 x 26cm, approx).
A copy of the book just sold on ebay for $399.99- R
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František Reichentál (a.k.a. Frank/Ferenc, Riechenthal/Reichen-tal) was undoubtedly one on the most influential Eastern European modern artists. His works reflected his difficult life from his poor upbringing, a prisoner of war in Russia, escape from the Nazi's, and finally fleeing from the Communists to start over in the United States.
Reichentál was born in Lehnice (Velky Leg), Slovakia on May 6, 1895. In 1916, he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army, where he was captured by the Russians and sent to prisoner of war camp. In addition to disrupting his studies, the war years took the lives of both his brother and father. He spent the October Revolution in 1917 in captivity.
Despite the war ending in 1918, Reichentál was not allowed to leave Russia. Captured officers were being held at the time by Russia as booty for the release of Hungarian Communists. While Reichentál was not allowed to leave, he was given permission to study. From 1917 to 1919, he taught at art schools in Irkutsz. Between 1920 and 1921, he enrolled at the Petrograd Art Academy and studied under V. V. Belyayev. After Petrograd, Reichentál painted and taught art with Marc Chagall. He had expos is both Moscow and St. Petersburg, with works being purchased by the State.
After returning home, in 1921, his artistic career flourished, with exhibitions in Berlin, Prague, and Paris. In 1922, Reichentál became a member of the Union of Artists in Slovakia, and had an exposition in Prague. He became a professor at the School of Applied Arts in 1933 and married Margaret Fleischmann in 1936. Their daughter, Mary, was born in 1938.
During the World War II, Jews were not allowed to work. So Reichentál, his wife, and their young child tried unsuccessfully to emigrate to America. To make ends meet, he colored photographs and did portraits. After the German occupation in 1939, the family was constantly on the run, using fake identifications to escape capture. Finally, in 1945, the Russian army took control from the Germans. Fluent in seven languages, including Russian and German, Reichentál served as a translator for the Russians through the remainder of the war.
While his family survived the war, Reichentál's mother, two sisters, and niece were killed in Auschwitz. His wife's parents and sister were also killed by the Nazis. Given these experiences, Reichenthal's work took on a more powerful tone as he chronicled many of the atrocities of the war. Such works as "Arbeit Macht Frei", the Lone Survivor, Gas, and The Arrival document the barbarity of the Nazi holocaust.
Under pressure from renewed anti-Semitism and nationalism and haunted by the memories of the war, Reichentál and his family emigrated to the United States in 1948. In the U.S., Reichentál continued to paint and draw, but also worked in other artistic realms, such as illustrating comics and fashion drawings. While his name was well know throught Europe, he started again when he came to the US, exhibiting his works in New York, Miami, Chicago, Austria, Germany, Vienna, Dresdon, Paris, Toronto, and Israel.
Despite his death in New York on April 2, 1972, Reichentál's work continues to live on in Museums, private collections, and exhibitions throughout the world, a tribute to his tragic life and enduring creativity.
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