ISTANBUL - Paintings of Jewish children who lost their lives in the concentration and extermination camps during the World War II, will be displayed at Istanbul's Schneidertempel Art Gallery.
The exhibition entitled ''Story of Children - Paintings from Terezin Concentration Camp 1943-1944'' will be displayed between April 19 and June 18, 2004.
The exhibition will consist of paintings of Jewish children, who were sent to Terezin Concentration Camp, 60 kilometers to Prague, between 1941 and 1945 and lost their lives in the camp.
Jewish children painted their previous life, fairy tales, flowers, nature and their daily life in the camp in their paintings.
Releasing a statement on Monday, the Schneidertempel Art Gallery said that the exhibition coincided with the April 23 National Sovereignty and Child Festival since it was an inheritance warning whole humanity to save the next generations from experiencing such events.
In many of the paintings, Jewish children expressed their aspiration to return to their homes. However, only 4 percent of children in Terezin Concentration Camp could return to their homes.
There are nearly 4 thousand paintings of Jewish children in collection of the Prague Museum.
''About 15 thousand children were sent from Terezin to several extermination camps especially to Auschwitz. They were victimized by Nazi ideology of the period. The paintings are the results of secret education activities in the camp. Teacher and painter Friedl Dicker-Brandeis organized the painting lessons. Brandeis died in an extermination camp in 1944,'' the statement added.
(UK-AY) 12.04.2004