Five sculptures by Paul Roth were donated by his daughter, Claudine, and his son Laurent. Three of them – “The Scream” (1980), “The Survivor” (1998), and “Pitié!/Mercy!” – are highly expressive, almost naturalistic depictions of human figures whose emaciated, hunger-distorted bodies bear the marks of a man condemned to Auschwitz. Two untitled sculptures portray a man standing against a wall with a cut wound on his chest, and hands emerging from the earth.
A painting by André Roth, donated by his son Claude, is entitled “Selection or Elimination” (1985). It depicts the interior of a barracks for prisoners where two SS men are carrying out a selection. Tragically, the rest of André Roth’s paintings dedicated to his camp experiences were stolen from the family.
“This extraordinary gift has not only deepened our knowledge of the history of those deported to Auschwitz and their postwar lives but also enriched our collection with works of immense artistic force. They present a profoundly subjective image of the camp, deeply marked by the emotions and feelings of both brothers. André Roth’s painting shows the scene of a selection from the inside – from its very center – through the eyes of a direct witness. Paul Roth’s sculptures, meanwhile, are characterized by great expression and power. They are deeply moving and do not allow us to forget the immense suffering of the victims of this largest of all concentration and extermination camps,” emphasized Agnieszka Sieradzka, curator in the Museum Collections.
The works were donated to the Museum by the children of Paul and André Roth so that they could bear witness here to the tragic fate of their family, and of all victims of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camps.
In her letter, Claudine Roth, daughter of Paul, wrote:“Inspired by our father’s stay in the concentration camp, marked by the death march that he was fortunate to survive together with his twin brother André, several of his sculptures are particularly painful and difficult. Both brothers had a highly developed artistic sensibility. My father sculpted, and his brother painted. His works related to the Holocaust had the honor of being exhibited during the inauguration of the Memorial in Caen. As for our father, he did not want to part with his sculptures, but after his death my brother and I wanted these four works to rest in the Memorial, where they will find the peace and welcome they deserve.”
Claude Roth, son of André, wrote: “I met with my 103-year-old living aunt (Marcelle – the sister of Paul and André, also an Auschwitz Survivor), to whom I explained what would happen to her brothers’ works and where they would be taken. She was very proud of this. Once again, thank you so much.”
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