In a Nazi Camp in Belgium, Irene Awret Found Salvation in Art.

Alone in a Gestapo jail cell with blood-stained walls, Irene Spicker — 21 and Jewish — was terrified. She had fled her native Berlin in 1939 and managed to hide for several years in Belgium. But by 1943, the Nazi persecution of Jews was in full force, occupied Belgium was no longer a haven, and her captors were determined to learn from her the whereabouts of her father.

Spicker searched for some distraction to calm her fears. Luckily, the burgeoning artist still had her purse and the small sketchbook that she always carried. She proceeded to draw her left hand in careful detail.

It turned out to be a life-saving piece of art. But instead of the short-term stay experienced by most detainees, Spicker would spend a year and a half at the Mechelen camp in 1943 and 1944. She was assigned to the art workshop, where a small group of prisoners painted cardboard identification signs, linen armbands and other posters and signs for the camp.

When the rudimentary tasks were done, Spicker was forced to paint portraits of Nazi officers. By choice — and in secret — she painted portraits of her fellow prisoners. She also fell in love. Azriel Awret was another workshop artist, and he and Spicker married soon after Allied forces liberated Mechelen in September 1944. read more