Alfred Tibor (February 10, 1920 – March 18, 2017) was a
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
survivor and
sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. His artwork can be found in nearly 500 private collections and museums throughout the world, including the
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
memorial in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Life
Tibor was born Alfred Goldstein in
Konyár
Konyár is a village in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.
Etymology
The names comes from the Slavic ''koňar/koniar'' (a stableman or a horsekeeper). 1213/1150 ''Kanar''.
Geography
It covers an area ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in 1920.
Denied formal training because of his Jewish faith, he taught himself gymnastics in high school. "The more they were pushing me down and degrading me, the more I wanted to be better than others," he said. "I wanted to prove it: I am not a dirty Jew; I am a boy, and I have ambition." Tibor eventually qualified for the Hungarian team for the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
, but when he went to register for the team, he was denied when the team discovered he was Jewish. Tibor was not allowed to compete as a member of the Hungarian team in the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
[Life of the Mind Presents Alfred Tibor](_blank)
Ohio Dominican University, October 14, 2003, accessed May 10, 2006. "I was kicked out. I was kicked out because I was Jewish," Tibor said. "That time, the sky was falling apart."
In 1940 Tibor was forced to be a
slave labor
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
er for a
Hungarian Army
The Hungarian Ground Forces ( hu, Magyar Szárazföldi Haderő) is the land branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and is responsible for ground activities and troops including artillery, tanks, APCs, IFVs and ground support. Hungary's ground f ...
labor battalion
Labour battalions have been a form of alternative service or unfree labour in various countries in lieu of or resembling regular military service. In some cases they were the result of some kind of discriminative segregation of the population, wh ...
. Eventually he was captured by the
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
and spent six years as a prisoner in a
Siberian
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
prison camp. Of the 273 men in his labor battalion sent to the prisoner-of-war camp, he was only one of two to survive.
[Ohio Department of Aging](_blank)
Golden Buckeye 2005 Hall of Fame inductees biography, accessed May 10, 2006 Tibor credited "luck and determination" for his survival.
Tibor was freed from the camp in 1947. It was then that he discovered that, of his family of 37 immediate people (and 82 other relatives),
by Felix Hoover, ''The Columbus Dispatch'', April 21, 2006, accessed May 10, 2006. only he and his brother Andre had survived both the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
and the war. Tibor and his brother changed their last name to Tibor to honor their older brother, Tibor Goldstein, who was executed in another prison camp.
[Alfred Tibor 1920-2017: Prolific sculptor shaped by Holocaust]
by Jim Woods, The Columbus Dispatch, March 19, 2017
Tibor moved to Budapest and worked for nine years as a government exhibition designer. In 1956, two months after the
Hungarian Revolution, he fled the country with his wife and two children because he feared a return of
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
sentiment.
They emigrated to the United States in 1957, where he worked as a commercial artist in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
for 16 years until moving to
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, to pursue sculpture full-time.
Tibor's grand-niece
Julie Orringer
Julie Orringer (born June 12, 1973) is an American writer and lecturer. She attended Cornell University and the Iowa Writer's Workshop, and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. She was born in Miami, Florida and now lives in Brooklyn with ...
based her first novel ''The Invisible Bridge'' on the experiences of Tibor and his family, with Tibor's brother Andrew being the model for the book's central character.
On January 25, 2005, a deer burst through Tibor's living-room window and attacked him, resulting in his hospitalization.
Tibor died on March 18, 2017, aged 97.
Sculptures
Tibor has stated that be believes he did not lose his life during the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
so he could eventually create art to capture and evoke human emotions. "Art for art’s sake is not enough," he has said.
Tibor's first commissioned sculpture was completed in 1974. Today his work can now be found in nearly 500 private collections and museums while his large outdoor statues can be seen in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and around the world. Among the locations of his statues are the
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
memorial in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Battelle Riverfront Park
Battelle Riverfront Park is a park in downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States, near Columbus City Hall. The park was established in 1983. It is named after Gordon Battelle and was funded by the Battelle Memorial Institute.
Features
The park fe ...
(
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
), Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Ohio), the Ohio Governor’s mansion, the Arthur James Hospital and Research Institute, and the Indianapolis Jewish Center in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
. ''
Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
'' (1985) and ''
Celebration of Life
''Celebration of Life'' is a one-hour English play written and directed by Sachin Gupta
Sachin Gupta (born 9 March 1978) is an Indian film producer, writer and director. He produces films under Chilsag Motion Pictures and is also an artis ...
'' (2004) are installed in Columbus.
His most recent sculpture, "Zahor" (meaning "Remembrance" in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
) was commissioned fo
Congregation Agudas Achimin
Bexley, Ohio
Bexley is a suburban city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,928 at the 2020 census. Founded as a village, the city of Bexley is a suburb of Columbus, the Ohio state capital, situated on the banks of Alum Creek next ...
, where he is a member. The 9-foot-tall bronze sculpture shows German soldiers herding victims into a
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.
Histor ...
while above a survivor climbs out of the smokestack holding an
Israeli flag
The flag of Israel ( he, דגל ישראל '; ar, علم إسرائيل ') was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the establishment of the Israel, State of Israel. It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizo ...
. Behind the sculpture is a granite map showing the locations of all the concentration camps in Europe. The work also features a
poem
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...
written by American poet
Emma Lazarus
Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet "The New Colossus", which was inspired ...
predicting the establishment of the
State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Awards
Tibor has received a lifetime achievement award from the Liturgical Art Guild, an Arts Freedom Award, and has been inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. He also won a 2005 Ohioana Pegasus Award.
References
External links
Alfred Tibor's personal siteSculpture Center information on four Tibor sculpturesTo purchase Alfred Tibor sculptures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tibor, Alfred
1920 births
2017 deaths
20th-century American Jews
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
20th-century American sculptors
Jewish gymnasts
Jewish sculptors
Hungarian male artistic gymnasts
Hungarian Jews
Hungarian sculptors
Holocaust survivors
Hungarian emigrants to the United States
Hungarian World War II forced labourers
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American sculptors