The Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art

"It is not uncommon in art history for highly talented artists, who were little or not noticed during their lifetime, to sink into complete obscurity after their death. But the fact that such good artists are literally snatched from widespread oblivion as if with a bang is probably the exception. That's exactly what happened. Such a highly commendable event, the presentation of an artist who was already known many decades ago during his lifetime, is the remarkable and sensational rediscovery of Fritz Ascher and his work. Three topics are worth mentioning: 1.) Getting to know a great artist who, partly according to inclination and his own inner law, partly tormented and forced by external circumstances to the point of threatening his life, shows in his painting a strong, lively, vital, but predominantly gloomy and dark color scheme. The graphics, exclusively hand drawings, demonstrate Ascher's pronounced ability to capture the central essence of a situation, an event, an impression and a personality with quick, sometimes erratic strokes and with chalk, ink brush or pen, here preferably the sensitive, masterfully handled ones Rohrfeder (Tanzende 1921). After 1945, a new color painting appeared that only hinted at the subject, almost no longer needed it or almost covered it with brilliant, eruptive, dark, tattered color storms (Beethoven 1945). Later, sun and flower are very related to each other, trees are dramatically threatened individuals that show the ordeal they have survived. The later landscapes, whether with water, moon or sun, are painted memory spaces or planes that show the inferno passing by, without jubilation, without joy, without triumph; in them you only see the battered creature. These are impressive, touching and stirring images with shocking directness, great paintings. 2.) The mention goes to the large retrospective "Life is Glow" and its catalog (almost 300 pages) about Ascher's entire work, including the poems, which have been on display in Germany since 2016 (Osnabrück) in various places (Chemnitz, Berlin, Potsdam). see was and is. Exhibitions in the USA are planned. With remarkable diligence and equal energy and tenacity, people have searched, compiled and researched for many years in order to be able to show the "whole" ashtray. The research, as the great catalog (English/German) shows, was thorough, wide-ranging, profound and well-documented and shows the same seriousness, and probably also the intense concern of the authors, that characterizes Ascher's work and life itself. What Ascher's works lack is a subtle, relaxed cheerfulness, the invitation to celebrated, delicate enjoyment of art, and everything narrative-illustrative and decorative accessories are missing. The artist's times were not such that all of this could have been cultivated. There was no exuberance in joy, only in lively drama. Ascher was essential. 3.) The Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art, Inc. in New York and its director and CEO, Rachel Stern, have produced the large, lavish Ascher exhibition and its thorough catalog in an astonishingly few years. This deserves admiration and the highest recognition."

"I was a panelist for Rachel Stern's recent talk at the Graduate Center, and find her work and the work of the society invaluable to art history. Fritz Ascher is just one of the many artists, both during the Second World War and into the present, whose careers were truncated as a consequence of war and persecution. In bringing Ascher's work to light, and showcasing not only his talent but also Ascher's narrative of creativity under fire and after the trauma of war, the Fritz Ascher Society helps to illustrate some of the cultural consequences of discrimination and conflict."

"I had the great pleasure of visiting the Fritz Ascher exhibition "Life is Glow" in Chemnitz. Deeply impressed by the artist's wonderful pictures and the beautiful Gunzenhauser Museum, I drove back to Leipzig. The work of the Fritz Ascher Society with Rachel Stern at the helm is so important so that artists like Fritz Ascher are not forgotten. The names of those who suffered under the Nazis or were murdered by the Nazis must not be forgotten. Fritz Ascher is also one of the artists of the “lost generation”. Thanks to the Fritz Ascher Society, to Rachel Stern in particular and thanks also to the Gunzenhauser Museum. André Stolle in 2017"

"I went to the Graduate Center where Ms.Rachael Stern, CEO of the Society, presented the biography and works of Fritz Ashcher. I was really impressed by the paintings of this artist. I am Jewish and French, knowing what French people did during WWII I understand the need to hide your judaism. My family was hiding in the French country during that war. Ashcher's works is remarkable, the light and brightness of the colors he uses to depict nature shows how he must have miss the sun and the open sky during his hiding in Nazi Germany. I think that the Fritz Ashcher Foundation does a tremendous and impressive work presenting to the world the work of persecuted and forgotten artists. I feel fortunate to, now ,know Fritz Ascher's works and paintings and hope that many people will support the Society."

"Our synagogue just hosted Ms.Rachael Stern, the official of the Fritz Ascher Society where she presented the biography and works of Fritz Ashcher. The group of people assembled were Holocaust Survivors and family of persecuted Jews from Europe. We were shocked at the blatant anti-semitic art of this painter and the thin veil of 'collaboration" in which this artist must have willingly participated. Fritz Ascher created a work of caricatures that would only be accepted by the German Nazi Party. There was no place in German conversation at that time to be ridiculing the Nazi Party about their attempt to be the only ultimate race. It appears, then, that the openness of Ascher's exhibitions was in accord and compliance with that Weimar Republic 's philosophy. As a Jew, before his 'conversion' to Catholicism, he would be considered a collaborator. Since he converted, along with family, Fritz Ascher is to be labeled a Nazi. It seems odd that Ascher was described as 'suspicious' to the Germans and only held for a short while in a concentration camp and prison. Was he a member of the Nazi Party? Did this win him his freedom. His incarceration was so brief and that he could "hide' (for months or years) afterwards makes sense if he truly became a Nazi before WW11. Perhaps this is the reason for the shortness of his imprisonment and his willingness to portray Jews as the Nazi Party required. It is with great grief that we are reminded of our own families who perished and our only solace is for the few who survived as Jews then and now."