Joseph Bau ( he, יוסף באו; 13 June 1920 – 24 May 2002) was a Polish-born Israeli artist, philosopher, inventor, animator, comedian, commercial creator, copy-writer, poet, and survivor of the Płaszów concentration camp.

Life

Bau was trained as a graphic artist at the

Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie, usually abbreviated to ''ASP''), is a public institution of higher education located in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Pol ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. His education was interrupted by World War II and he was transferred to the Płaszów concentration camp in late 1942 from the

Kraków Ghetto The Kraków Ghetto was one of five major metropolitan Nazi ghettos created by Germany in the new General Government territory during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It was established for the purpose of exploitation, terror, and ...

. Having a talent in gothic lettering, he was employed in the camp for making signs and maps for the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. While in Płaszów, Bau created a miniature, the size of his hand, illustrated book with his own poetry. He also forged documents and identity papers for people who managed to escape from the camp. During his imprisonment, Bau fell in love with another inmate, Rebecca Tennenbaum. They were secretly married, despite the prohibition by the Germans, in the women's barracks of Płaszów. This was dramatized in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning movie ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...

'', where he was played by

Rami Heuberger Rami Heuberger (Hebrew: רמי הויברגר; born October 12, 1963) is an Israeli director, actor and entertainer. Biography Career in the theater After his army service, Heuberger studied acting at Nissan Nativ's acting studio in Tel Aviv. A ...

. Bau himself appears in the film's epilogue placing a stone on Oskar Schindler's grave in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, along with his wife Rebecca. After Płaszów, Bau was transferred to

Gross-Rosen concentration camp , known for = , location = , built by = , operated by = , commandant = , original use = , construction = , in operation = Summer of 1940 – 14 February 1945 , gas cham ...

and then to Schindler's camp where he stayed until the end of the war, while Rebecca was sent to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

. After liberation, Bau was reunited with his wife and finished his degree at University of Plastic Arts in Kraków. In 1950, he immigrated to

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 ...

together with his wife and three-year-old daughter, Hadassah, where their other daughter, Clila, was born. He worked as a graphic artist at the Brandwein Institute in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and for the government of Israel. Bau opened his own studio in 1956 in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, which is now a museum managed by his daughters. He was well known for creating graphic fonts and drawing titles for Israeli films in the 1960s and 1970s. He also authored a number of

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 ...

books and write poetry. Bau's wife Rebecca died in 1997. Bau died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

on 24 May 2002, at age 81.

Works

The English version of Joseph Bau's memoir, ''Dear God, Have You Ever Gone Hungry?'' came out in June 1998. It was first published in Hebrew and Polish and was published in several languages, including Chinese. Joseph Bau also created his own animated films, for which he has been referred to in the press as the "Israeli Walt Disney" or as the "founder of Israel's animation industry". His paintings and drawings have been listed by Sotheby's as significant contributions to the art of the Holocaust and his works have been shown in galleries in the US. Joseph Bau's art is filtered through the prism of his own experiences. It reflects both the brutal reality of life during the war, as well as the joy and humour he observed in later years in Israel. Joseph Bau was nominated for the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

in 1998.

References

External links

Joseph Bau's Home Page
* Giuseppe Sedia
''Josef Bau: Israel’s Walt Disney and Mapmaker of Hell''
, in
The Krakow Post
7 September 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bau, Joseph 1920 births 2002 deaths Polish Jews in Israel 20th-century Israeli Jews 20th-century Polish Jews Citizens of Israel through Law of Return 20th-century Israeli male writers 20th-century Israeli male artists Gross-Rosen concentration camp survivors Israeli animators Israeli animated film directors Polish animated film directors Israeli illustrators Jewish Israeli writers Israeli memoirists Israeli male poets Jewish Combat Organization members Jewish Israeli artists Jewish poets Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp survivors Kraków Ghetto inmates Polish cartoonists Polish emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Schindlerjuden Burials at Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts alumni 20th-century memoirists Deaths from pneumonia in Israel