ABSTRACT
Concentration camps were a central element in the oppressive structure of the Nazi regime which was imposed on government opponents and Jews. The camps were characterized by severe corporal punishment of the prisoners, terrible work conditions, inhuman treatment by the camp staff, and death. On some concentration camps’ gates, the words Arbeit Macht Frei (‘Work sets you free’) were inscribed. The phrase Arbeit Macht Frei, especially the one in Auschwitz I, became a symbolic image of the Holocaust in general, and of the camps in particular. Artists used it to depict the harsh reality of incarceration in the camps and to engage with the denial of human freedom due to their opposition to the violent and oppressive regime. Several artists changed the words of the original phrase Arbeit Macht Frei and presented it not in its original language, but in Hebrew, to convey a different message by paraphrasing the term. Some artists portrayed Auschwitz I’s gate as a symbol through which they conveyed moral, political, and universal messages. Other artists dealt with the memory of the Holocaust by selecting the phrase Arbeit Macht Frei.
