Survivor-Centred Visual Narratives

Author: Jennifer Sauter

Publication of Barbara Yelin’s ‘Emmie Arbel. The Color of Memory’

We are delighted to announce the publication of Barbara Yelin’s graphic novel ‘Emmie Arbel. Die Farbe der Erinnerung’ (Emmie Arbel. The Color of Memory) documenting her extensive memory work with Emmie Arbel.

Born in Holland in 1937, Emmie Arbel was deported with her Jewish family in 1942 and survived the Nazi concentration camps Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen as a child. Her parents and grandparents were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust.

Emmie Arbel now lives near Haifa, Israel. She often travels to Germany to speak as a contemporary witness. Although her childhood was marked by death, speechlessness, abuse and loneliness, she looks back on a life full of rebellion, self-empowerment and humour. In her constant effort to bring her memories out of the silence, the consequences of the Holocaust become visible – in her life, with her family, in every single day.

Barbara Yelin’s graphic novel is based on her personal encounters and numerous intensive conversations with Emmie Arbel. It is a continuation of the first collaboration, and includes 40 pages already published in the anthology “Aber ich leben” (CH Beck) (“But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust” (University of Toronto Press) from 2022.

Edited by Charlotte Schallié and Alexander Korb, the graphic novel will be published on November 6, 2023 and is available to purchase from Reprodukt Publishing.

Reviews and Mentions

Find the article here (German only).

“For her, drawing, Yelin once said, is a process of searching, recognizing and carefully approaching reality. In ‘Emmie Arbel – The Colour of Memory’ she masterfully shows where this process can lead.”

Lars von Törne, 2023

Wiesbaden Kunsthaus hosts “But I Live: Remembering the Holocaust” – September 14 – November 26, 2023

The exhibition “But I Live: Remembering the Holocaust” is being hosted at the Wiesbaden Kunsthaus from September 14th to November 26th, 2023. Special thanks to Regine Meldt for hosting the opening night with the Kamp brothers Rolf and Nico, Gilad Seliktar, and curator Jakob Hoffmann!

More information can be found by selecting the exhibition program poster and on the website.

A curator’s tour of the exhibition took place on Thursday, September 21st at 5:00 pm with Jakob Hoffmann. The Kunsthaus also created a short film about the exhibition, featured on their YouTube Channel: