This piece is titled Unable to Work by David Olere. Olere was born in Warsaw, Poland on January 19, 1902, where he was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts at a young age. From March 1943 to January 1945 he was detained in Auschwitz as a Sonderkommando, a special labor unit responsible for emptying the remains from the crematory ovens as well as removing the bodies from the gas chambers. He also bore witness to the horrific testing performed by the Nazi’s and was forced to work as an illustrator and write letters for the SS. Olere was the first person to draw plans and cross-sections of the crematories. Since no photos were taken of the crematoria and gas chambers at Auschwitz, Olere’s work is considered to have “exceptional documentary value,” (Klarsfeld). His began creating his art after his release in 1945 out of a sense of obligation to those who did not survive. Olere felt it was important for everyone to understand the true horrors of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, due the graphic nature of his art, most people are repelled by it than attracted to it.
In Unable to Work, Olere depicts a common scene at Auschwitz. The inability to work was an immediate death sentence and this painting depicts the walk of those considered useless. Overall, the colors are dark and muted. The sky contains orange and yellow, depicting light, but there is no suggestion of joy in it. The use of teal, gray, and black in the sky helps create the bleak atmosphere felt by the labors. In the background the smoke rising from the crematorium forms the SS insignia while laborers work at the camp, overseen by SS soldiers.
The painting focuses on a Jewish family consisting of an elderly woman, a middle-aged woman holding an infant, and 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl. These characters stand out against the background, drawing the eye of the viewer and creating depth to distinguish the distance of the family from the workers. The conditions in which they lived are evident in their faces, where their eyes and cheeks are sunken and their bone structure is rigid and sharp. They are all slightly stooped, the elderly woman probably from age but the others from malnutrition. Fatigue is evident in the overall limpness of their bodies and their open mouths add to image of suffering. Beneath their feet are the bones of those who walked this path before them. Floating above the family is the spirit of a malnourished, skeletal-like body with one hand wrapped around the elderly woman. The intimate way this ghostly figure holds the elderly woman suggests it may be a loved one offering comfort and protection in the last moment of their lives. Of course, this could also suggest the fate of this family.
On the left side, barely in the painting, is the arm of an SS soldier. The sleeve of his coat is visible with the SS insignia and his gloved hand holds a rifle. He is guiding the family to their destiny, and possibly welcoming them to their destination. The smoke from the crematorium in the background suggests this family is headed to the gas chambers.
Works Cited
Klarsfeld, Serge David Olère: L'Oeil du Témoin/The Eyes of a Witness. New York: The Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, 1989. Web. April 21, 2011. <http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/ARTS/DOBIO/DOarts.HTM>
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