Many poignant recollections have been recounted describing the atrocities of the Holocaust and their effect on different aspects of society in general and the survivors in particular.
An incredible story tells how renowned artist Nicky Imber managed to escape from the Dachau Nazi concentration camp by cleverly using his artistic skills.
Born in Vienna, Austria in 1920, the young Imber was already artistically inclined from an early age. His family, sensing that conditions were rapidly deteriorating for Jews, tried to leave Austria, but the Nazi authorities consistently refused. In this time period, Imber’s prodigious talents enabled him to be accepted into the prestigious Vienna Academy of Arts.
While in art school, he created controversy by drawing anti-Nazi cartoons for Jewish student publications. Shortly after, in the year 1938, he was sent, along with his family, to the Dachau Nazi concentration camp.
Witnessing the deaths of his family and others, his grief turned to anger as he planned his escape. Over the next few months, using the skills he had learned in art school, she cleverly designed a face mask made of bread and sand. Biding her time, she was able to steal the uniform of a Nazi soldier. Then, while he dressed up in the mask he had created and the Nazi soldier uniform, he was able to walk out the front door unnoticed!
Unfortunately, Imber’s ordeal was not over, even after this daring escape. Conditions were too dangerous to remain in the country, so he decided the risk of being caught trying to leave was better than staying. He managed to board a ship bound for Haifa, Israel in the hope that he could start a new life in freedom. When the ship arrived at the port of Haifa, the British authorities detained it and the ship’s passengers were denied entry to Israel.
As if this incident was not demoralizing enough, and to add insult to injury, after having suffered the horrors of Dachau, Imber and the rest of the passengers were sent to prison in a detention camp located in Mauritius.
Imber vowed to dedicate her artistic life to perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust.
After the war, Imber’s artistic reputation grew to international levels and in 1978 he was finally able to fulfill a long-time dream. For three years she worked on the design and construction of the Holocaust Memorial Park in Karmiel, Israel, entitled ‘From the Holocaust to the Resurrection’. Her famous sculpture, “Hope,” is on display among the many sculptures found in this memorial park depicting Holocaust themes.
Near the end of his life he returned to his birthplace, closing a symbolic circle:
He died in Vienna in 1996.
