LAS VEGAS (KSNV MyNews3) -- Prisoners at the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz were forbidden from any form of self expression, yet more than 6,000 pieces of art created by prisoners were hidden in the camp, and Las Vegas residents now have the chance to get a rare look into the lives of those who perished.
The art was discovered after the end of World War II -- discoveries many would call a miracle.
"This is something very important those people risked their lives to express something," said Dr. Piotr Cywinski, director of the Aushwitz-Birkenau Memorial in Poland, where That means even people in the worst situation could not express in words something that only art can show to the others."
Creating art was forbidden by the Nazis, so anyone caught doing so would have been sentenced to death. It was an enormous risk to take, but they did it because they needed a way to tell people what was happening.
Materials were very hard to find, so the prisoners had to be creative, and they had to hide it to avoid getting caught. Most would put their art in jars and bury it throughout the camps.
Art is still being discovered at concentration camps today.
The art will be on display as part of the "Forbidden Art exhibit from February 8 through 20 at the Temple Beth Sholom every day except Saturday, free to the public.
