Public German-Polish conference
Remembering the past, shaping the future. Conference on the life and work of Marian Ruzamski and the fight against anti-Semitism
September 4th and 5th, 2024 in the Museum Center for Persecuted Arts, Wuppertaler Straße 160, 42653 Solingen
We are pleased to invite you to a conference on the life and work of the artist Marian Ruzamski (1889-1945) in the Museum Center for Persecuted Arts in Solingen on September 4th and 5th, 2024.
At the inauguration of Gerhard Richter's exhibition house on February 9th, 2024 in Auschwitz, Marian Turski, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, spoke to Dr. Jürgen Joseph Kaumkötter, director of the Center for Persecuted Arts, about the artist Marian Ruzamski. Turski emphasized that Ruzamski's fate illustrates the cruel consequences of anti-Semitism and persecution, while his art is an example of resistance and humanism. Despite traumatic experiences in the First World War, the Russian Revolution and his deportation to Auschwitz, Ruzamski's artistic work remained consistently positive and life-affirming. The Solingen Museum has taken up Turski's suggestion and is inviting people to a conference in September 2024 to prepare an exhibition of works by Marian Ruzamski in 2025.
Marian Ruzamski, born to a Polish Christian notary and a French-born Jew in Lipnik, Silesia, was deported to Auschwitz in 1943 because of his Jewish origins and alleged homosexuality. Despite the inhumane camp conditions, Ruzamski continued his artistic work and left behind an impressive body of work, including the "Auschwitz Portfolio", a collection of portraits and drawings that are considered the pinnacle of his work and of 20th century art. These works, created under extreme conditions, testify to a masterful watercolor technique and profound humanity. Ruzamski's death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp shortly before liberation by the Allies and the subsequent preservation of his works by survivors and friends underscore the appreciation and importance of his artistic legacy. His art offers a glimpse into the suffering and hope of an artist during the darkest hours of history and remains a cautionary tale for humanism and against racism and anti-Semitism.
Aim of the conference:
- To educate people about the history and fate of Marian Ruzamski as an example of the effects of anti-Semitism.
- To raise awareness of the importance of preventing anti-Semitism in today's society.
- To promote dialogue between scientists, educators, artists and the general public about ways to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination in the context of art.
The German-Polish conference will be simultaneously interpreted and will take place in the council chamber of the Museum Center for Persecuted Arts in Solingen. The Anti-Semitism Commissioner of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Polish Institute in Düsseldorf are supporting the conference.
September 4, 2024
6:00 p.m. Opening
Moderation: Shelly Kupferberg
Speakers:
- Dr. Jürgen Joseph Kaumkötter, Director of the museum Center for Persecuted Arts
- Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Former Federal Minister, Anti-Semitism Commissioner for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
- Sylvia Löhrmann, Former Minister of State, Chairwoman of the Museum’s Supporters’ Association
- Envoy Rafał Sobczak, Director of the Polish Institute Düsseldorf
7:00 p.m. Concert
Violinist Klara Gronet and pianist Sonja Kowollik play works by Witold Lutosławski, Mieczysław Weinberg, Grażyna Bacewicz and Robert Schumann.
Klara Gronet was born in Warsaw in 2000. She began playing the violin at the age of six under the instruction of Anna Rzymyszkiewicz. She obtained her bachelor's degree from the ZUYD Maastricht Academy of Music under the direction of Professor Robert Szreder, with whom she has been working since 2015. She is currently completing her master's degree at the Cologne University of Music and Dance with Professor Mihaela Martin. Klara Gronet has won a number of national and international competitions and has given several highly acclaimed solo performances in the Netherlands and Poland. She has worked as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of the Polish Radio and the Delft Symphony Orchestra.
Sonja Kowollik, born in Bottrop in 2001, is a talented pianist who received her first piano lessons at the age of five. Since 2011 she has been a junior student at the Münster Youth Academy with Thomas Reckmann and Prof. Michael Keller. She continued her education at the Cologne University of Music and Dance with Prof. Claudio Martínez-Mehner and Prof. Nina Tichman. Sonja Kowollik has received numerous awards and prizes, including the 2021 award from the Society for the Promotion of Westphalian Cultural Work (GWK), where she was praised for her exceptional musical creativity and artistic maturity. In addition to her solo work, Sonja Kowollik is an enthusiastic chamber musician and regularly performs with various ensembles. Her playing is valued for its naturalness and maturity, clear sound quality and deep emotional expressiveness.
The concert program:
- Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994): A Polish composer who worked under the difficult conditions of World War II and the communist regime in Poland. His piece “Subito” for violin and piano is a striking example of his modern musical language and shows a captivating mix of dynamics and emotion.
- Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996): A Polish-Jewish composer who escaped the Holocaust by fleeing to the Soviet Union, but was also persecuted under the Stalin regime. His Sonatina op. 46 for violin and piano reflects the complexity of his experiences.
- Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969): An outstanding Polish composer and violinist who is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century. Her Sonata No.2 for solo violin shows her virtuosity and innovative compositional ability.
- Robert Schumann (1810-1856): A major German Romantic composer. His Three Romances Op. 94 are intimate, emotional pieces that demonstrate his masterful ability for musical expression.
September 5, 2024
Moderation: Shelly Kupferberg
10:00 a.m. Polish painting of the last 150 years and Marian Ruzamski
- Dr. Maria Anna Potocka, Director of MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art Krakow
- Dr. Tadeusz Zych, Director of Tarnobrzeg Castle Museum
- Jakub Pączek, director from Warsaw
11:30 a.m. The role of art in resistance against discrimination and hatred
- Dr. Delfina Jałowik, Director of the Bunkier Sztuki Krakau
- Agnieszka Sieradzka, Curator of the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau
1:00 p.m. Lunch break
2:30 p.m. Preventing anti-Semitism: strategies and challenges in education and society
- Dr. Anke Hoffstadt, FORENA model project teaching concept, Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences
- Dr. Joachim Schröder, Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, head of the memorial site „Old Slaughterhouse“
- Dr. Kathrin Pieren, Director of the Jewish Museum Westfalen Dorsten
4:00 p.m. Anti-Semitism in Europe and the German occupation of Poland in World War II
- Prof. Dr. Christoph Rass, Modern History and Historical Migration Research at the University of Osnabrück
5:00 p.m. Closing discussion
Please register to participate by September 2nd by email at info@verfolgte-kuenste.de. The number of participants on September 5th is limited. No registration is required for September 4th.
Marian Ruzamski (1889-1945)
Marian Ruzamski was a Polish artist whose life and work were strongly influenced by the political events of the 20th century. Born in Lipnik (Silesia) to a Jewish mother and a Christian father, he experienced both world wars and the Russian Revolution, which had a profound impact on him. Despite these challenges, he left behind an extensive body of work that impresses with, among other things, his masterful watercolor technique.
Ruzamski began his artistic training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow under the guidance of important teachers such as Jacek Malczewski. He gained recognition and received a scholarship to Paris, but had to return to Poland due to the outbreak of World War I. During World War I, he was deported to Kharkiv by Russians, but managed to escape during the revolution.
His work, which mainly includes landscapes, portraits and scenes of everyday life, exudes a lightness that is in stark contrast to the sometimes life-threatening circumstances. Ruzamski was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and deported to Auschwitz, where he was registered under prisoner number 122 843. Despite his health and psychological problems, he continued his artistic work. In Auschwitz he created some of his most important portraits, which capture not only the external appearance but also the inner states of his models. These drawings, often referred to as the "Auschwitz portfolio", show fellow prisoners and doctors and are considered important testimonies of 20th century art.
Ruzamski was sent on a death march to Wodzisław Śląski in mid-January 1945 and eventually deported to Bergen-Belsen, where he died shortly before the camp was liberated in March 1945. His works from the camp were rescued by fellow prisoners and eventually ended up in the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Marian Ruzamski's life and work are a moving testimony to art under extreme conditions. His ability to create haunting and technically impressive images despite the horrors of his time makes him an outstanding representative of Polish and European art history.
