Lodz. Alt Jude in Lodz.
Another of the artists mobilized for the Reichswehr was Hermann Struck (b. 1876, d. 1944); author of a lithographic art manual, Chagall's teacher. Initially a German nationalist. Volunteer in World War I. He was a translator, liaison officer, registrar for Jewish affairs in the Oberost troops. For bravery he was awarded the Iron Cross and promoted to officer. He took part in the Battle of Lodz in 1915. After the breakthrough of the Russian front, he was stationed in Lodz, where he first encountered the Ostjuden. The author of poignant lithographs of their lives. After the war, a declared Zionist. Founder of the Mizrachi movement. He emigrated to Palestine, where he died in Haifa.
H. Struck toured the Jewish quarter after capturing Lodz from the Russians between February 17 and 23, 1915. In a sketchbook he drew what he saw. The result was a poignant graphic reportage of the life of the Jews of Lodz. The tour determined his transformation: from a German of Jewish origin he became a Jew of German origin. His later choices attest to this. The portraits of Jewish residents of Lodz are made using lithographic technique. The names of the figures, places and dates are engraved on stone. Each of the prints was signed by H. Struck in pencil. Rust spots on some prints, paper loss in one, dimensions ca: 230x265 mm, some smaller ones occur; condition of all bdb.
