Klara Jackl
“The Nightmarish Time”: The Wartime Life and Art of Dr. Henryk Beck
2022 | Full access
Dr. Henryk Beck, a gynecologist of Jewish origin and a distinguished figure of the 1930s Polish medical world, survived the World War II and the Holocaust in Lviv and Warsaw. In 1946, at the age of 50, he died suddenly, leaving behind a pictorial diary: nearly 1,700 small-scale artworks from the years 1937-1946 where he depicted his daily life and the historical events he lived through. Despite the existence of this rich and remarkable material, Beck’s life and art, specifically from the wartime, have so far been recognized only broadly or fragmentarily.
This study aims to reconstruct Beck’s biography between September 1939 and January 1945 on the basis of written sources (archives, memoirs, and press), and his art from that time. The research conducted proves the sources’ bilateral convergence and complementarity and bring new information to light, such as details of Beck’s military service, imprisonment, and time in hiding. The reconstruction is presented against historical events, and it outlines key determinators of Beck’s actions and positioning as a Polish-assimilated, upper-class representative, pointing to the diverse conduct of his social environment and of individuals towards him as a victim of the anti-Jewish oppression. The protective role and underground activities of his wife, Jadwiga Beck, are highlighted.
Through the analysis of selected artworks, my study offers an interpretation of how Beck captured his experience of the war and Holocaust artistically. I demonstrate that his progressive social degradation and maneuvering through the realities of Soviet and Nazi persecution are reflected in his style, as well as motifs and means of expression used. Beck’s artistic language, which I define as synonymous with his social status, indicative of his visual competence and immersion in contemporary graphic and artistic trends, undergoes a profound development in extremis, while hiding in the ruins of Warsaw in late 1944. I argue that “The Bunker” series of Beck’s drawings can be regarded as the pinnacle of his creativity as an artist and should be considered in the context of his earlier works. Reviewing the author’s wartime art against the background of his legacy and biography as a whole, I argue that making art served him at the time as a way to reduce social degradation and exclusion from the strata and culture to which he belonged.
Supervisors:
Prof. Barbara Engelking
Dr. Rachel Perry