Art Exhibit Showing Art Made From Ashes Of Holocaust Victims Closes After International Protest

“Hitler, as an aspirant painter, would have surely applauded [the painting],” says Wiesenthal Centerofficial

After an international outcry led by the Swedish Jewish community, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and other activists, a Swedishgallery has taken down an exhibit of a painting that used ashes of Holocaust victims. The painting,by Swedish artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff, contained ashes stolen by him from the Majdanek death camp in Poland (pictured).

In an openletter, Dr. Shimon Samuels, the Wiesenthal Center’s Director for International Relations, told to von Hausswolff that he was “turning art into abomination” and likened the work to the Nazis' use of human skin for lampshades. “Hitler, as an aspirantpainter, would have surely applauded,” wrote Samuels. After seeing the letter as well as other protests, Martin Bryder, the gallery owner, closed the exhibit early. Earlier in theweek, Bryder had said that he saw “no moral problem or flaw” in showing the piece.

“Aging survivors of the Nazi Holocaust have been shocked beyond word by this grotesque spectacle, and the fact that with veryfew exceptions, no one in Sweden raised their voices in protest over this outrage,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Wiesenthal Center.

“Swedish authorities have apparently dropped a criminal investigation, but von Hausswolff will certainly face the wrath of theultimate judge for this immoral outrage,” Cooper added.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 memberfamilies in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin AmericanParliament (Parlatino).