Children's Art in a World of Crisis

How children lived in a world of chaos through the discipline of art. One of the examples will focus on the art album Tommy. The album was drawn by Czech artist, Bedrich Fritta, as a present for his son, Thomas, on his third birthday. Illustrations for the toddler show a child sucking his thumb, using the potty, at the table, playing games, and doing other activities, until we remember that this was not reality, but rather a gift of optimism. Fritta was head of the Theresienstadt ghetto’s technical department, where Jewish artists imprisoned in the ghetto were forced to work for the Germans, drawing plans and preparing propaganda illustrations by day. However, they clandestinely documented the grim ghetto life whenever possible and concealed the drawings.
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Date: Wednesday, November 10, 1 PM ET
Target Audience: Grades 5-6
Length: 45 minutes