Menachem Birnbaum
Encyclopedia
Menachem Birnbaum was an Austria
n Jewish book illustrator
and portrait painter.
and his wife Rosa Korngut. Birnbaum later married Ernestine (Tina) Esther Helfmann, with whom he had two children: Rafael Zwi and Hana. Birnbaum lived in Berlin
from 1911 until 1914 and again from 1919 until 1933. He then emigrated to the Netherlands
. In the spring of 1943 he was arrested by the Gestapo
and with his relatives sent to a German Nazi concentration camp where he was murdered by the Nazis
. Birnbaum probably died in Auschwitz
in 1944; Tina, Rafael Zwi, and Hana Birnbaum perhaps in Sobibór
in 1943.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Jewish book illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and portrait painter.
Life
Birnbaum was the second son of the Jewish philosopher Nathan BirnbaumNathan Birnbaum
----Nathan Birnbaum was an Austrian writer and journalist, Jewish thinker and nationalist. His life had three main phases, representing a progression in his thinking: Zionist phase ; Jewish cultural autonomy phase which included the promotion of the Yiddish language; and religious phase...
and his wife Rosa Korngut. Birnbaum later married Ernestine (Tina) Esther Helfmann, with whom he had two children: Rafael Zwi and Hana. Birnbaum lived in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
from 1911 until 1914 and again from 1919 until 1933. He then emigrated to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. In the spring of 1943 he was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and with his relatives sent to a German Nazi concentration camp where he was murdered by the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. Birnbaum probably died in Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
in 1944; Tina, Rafael Zwi, and Hana Birnbaum perhaps in Sobibór
Sobibór extermination camp
Sobibor was a Nazi German extermination camp located on the outskirts of the town of Sobibór, Lublin Voivodeship of occupied Poland as part of Operation Reinhard; the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor...
in 1943.
Works
- Das Hohe Lied (The High Song), Berlin 1912
- Der Aschmedaj (Newspaper), Berlin-Warsaw 1912
- Schlemiel (Newspaper), Berlin 1919-1920 (Schriftleitung des künstlerischen Teils)
- Chad Gadjo, Berlin 1920
- Chad Gadjo, Scheveningen 1935
- Menachem Birnbaum Zeigt, Den Haag 1937
Literature
- Kitty Zijlmans, Jüdische Künstler im Exil: Uriel und Menachem Birnbaum; in: Hans Wuerzner (Hg.), Österreichische Exilliteratur in den Niederlanden 1934-1940, Amsterdam 1986