The Exhibition "The German Occupation in the Graphic Art of Meir Axelrod" Has Opened in Croatia

On February 27, the ceremonial opening of the exhibition "The German Occupation in the Graphic Works of Meer Axelrod" took place in Zagreb. The event was attended by the Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Croatia Anvar Azimov, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Croatia Tolezhan Barlybayev, the Chairman of the Alexander Pechersky Foundation Ilya Vasilyev, the Dean of the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts Tomislav Buntak, as well as representatives of Croatian state authorities and the diplomatic corps.

For the first time, Croatian audiences are presented with approximately 30 paintings and graphic works from Meer Axelrod’s series "The German Occupation," created between 1942 and 1943 in Alma-Ata, where the artist was working on the set designs for Sergei Eisenstein’s film *Ivan the Terrible*. Until recently, the existence of this series was unknown even to experts; the works were preserved in the artist’s family archives and had never been exhibited together.

During the Soviet era, Meer Axelrod was excluded from official artistic life. However, despite life's hardships, the artist spent nearly half a century painting scenes of Jewish life and the tragic fate of Jews who perished in pogroms and during the Holocaust.

The guest of honor at the ceremony, Mikhail Yakhilevich, grandson of Meer Axelrod and himself an artist, stated: "Meer Axelrod began creating works about the Holocaust during the war and continued to do so until his death. This series of works was never exhibited in its entirety during the artist's lifetime, as highlighting the tragedy of the Jewish people was not permitted in the Soviet Union. It is significant that this exhibition, organized by the Russian Pechersky Foundation and supported by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, is taking place in Croatia—a country where nearly the entire Jewish population perished. This exhibition is testament to the fact that the world is improving."

The exhibited works reflect not only the horror of life in Nazi-occupied territories but also the mass resistance movement, alongside the exploits of partisans and underground fighters. Of particular note is the only lifetime portrait of Alexander Pechersky, the leader of the legendary uprising at the Sobibor Nazi death camp.

Ilya Vasilyev, curator of the exhibition and head of the Alexander Pechersky Foundation, remarked: "The artwork of Meer Axelrod could have served at the Nuremberg Trials as evidence of the mass extermination of civilians, including nearly three million Soviet Jews."

"I would like to express my gratitude to the Russian Embassy in Croatia, the Alexander Pechersky Foundation, and the Academy of Fine Arts for their exemplary cooperation, which has culminated in the opening of this highly significant exhibition of Meer Axelrod’s work in Croatia. Axelrod succeeded in passing down to us evidence of numerous tragedies suffered by Jewish people, from pogroms to the Holocaust. This exhibition is undoubtedly one of his great legacies," stated Rabbi Professor Kotel Da-Don, Chief Rabbi of the Bet Israel Jewish Community in Croatia.

The exhibition, organized by the Russian Embassy in Croatia, the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in Croatia, the Alexander Pechersky Foundation, the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts, and the Šira Gallery, with the participation of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Second World War.