Black Artists under Nazi Persecution

Jazz musician Freddy Johnson refused to let racism in America stall his career. He embraced opportunities throughout Europe until the United States entered the war and he and other Americans were arrested. At the Tittmoning internment camp, Johnson continued to play music and met Black portrait artist Josef Nassy, who depicted their daily life as prisoners.

Life was even more precarious for Black German artists. While Bayume Mohamed Husen once acted in a Nazi propaganda film, he was eventually arrested for violating Nazi racial laws and died in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Join the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum during Black History Month to learn about artists’ experiences in Nazi Germany.

Host
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Guests
Kyra Schuster, Curator, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Dr. Kira Thurman, Assistant Professor of History and German, University of Michigan

Watch live at facebook.com/holocaustmuseum. You do not need a Facebook account to view their program. After the live broadcast, the recording will be available to watch on demand on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Facebook and YouTube pages.