Liza Deyches
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Liza was born around the time of Sukkos in 1914 in Kazan, Russia. In
1922 her family settled in Vilna.
Her sister,
Susie, writes:
"Already in her childhood years she
manifested a great talent for painting, and at the age
of fourteen or fifteen she had the first private
exhibition of her paintings. She had her talent in the
field ... from our father. In our home, there was a
beautiful picture in oil paints, a self-portrait of my
father.
With time Liza also crossed over to
sculptural work. She produced magnificent works, [even
though] she did not receive any professional training.
Everything she produced, everything she knew, came from
an innate, genuine, natural talent. She was in the group
of the creators and pioneers of "Modjacot," the
marionette theatre, whose specific style was political
satire (Liza voted as a socialist.) She did not only create
by herself, and by herself create marionettes (dolls),
but she also directed and was one of the voices
behind their masques. She was very gifted to play
character roles and was extraordinarily musical.
In the ghetto, her works (in all three forms) were a
great contribution to the exhibition of the "Yung Vilna"
artists. Her greatest creation in the ghetto was a
plastic plan of the city of Vilna (with her cloisters,
comrades, town halls, etc.), working in wood. This was
an extraordinary piece of art. She created it as a gift for
the Germans and bought off several, at that time,
prominent members of the Jewish Council.
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During the liquidation
of the ghetto, Liza was sent to a concentration
camp. Here also, in the camp, her artistic
abilities helped her out in her severe hunger. She
used to paint for the German officials, plaques,
signals, and get an extra soup out of it, or a
small piece of bread. As an "occupation" in the
camp, she was an electrician and a cobbler ...
I received a letter from her once, and only
while I was in the camp. This was immediately
after the liberation of France. This letter was
filled with optimism, and the purpose of her
writing was to give me courage, and through the
power to be able to educate, " to endure anothe
bite." ...
When the Russians
approached, we were evacuated in Torun, as well
as Liza's camp, which was also located in that
area. The Germans led us by foot to Gransk
(Danzig), in order to destroy all the
surrounding camps. People knew that they were
going to die. The Russians, however, simply did
not show up. (I was saved on the way to Danzig
-- in Birgashtsh). At the same time Liza with
her friend Rachel Sorabsky tried to flee from
the death march. Both of them were shot in the
darkness of the night and were killed. At dawn,
the other several hundred women were released."
Sh. Kacerginski writes about her life in
the ghetto:
"Her artistic abilities had
especially manifested itself in the ghetto by
creating the large, plastic plan of Vilna, which
the executioner Murer ordered in the council, in
order to give it as a gift for the birthday of
his boss, the Vilna land commissioner Hingst.
Deyches used to carry out the most meticulous
work (such as the precise elaboration in
miniature of the various architecturally complex
buildings of the Vilner cloisters, Beit-Midrash,
etc. Liza also inlaid various beautiful
paintings (such as the painting for my biography
about Chaim Grade, where the emblem of "Yung
Vilne," the title of the book, was inlaid on the
wooden table -- all in different colors.)
Liza Deyches was also an active contributor
to the marionette theatre "Meydim" in Vilna. And
she created complete dolls. At the liquidation,
she, with her sister (the known dancer, Susie),
was sent away to Estonia. Their mother --
Treblinka.
From Estonia Liza was sent
over to Germany, and a week before the
Liberation, Liza with her life partner Rachel
Sorabsky, were shot. Susie survived."
Józef Sandel writes:
"Liza Deyches
created dolls for the doll theatre "Meydim" in
Vilna. This was not any kind of conventional
doll, but small figures that she directed, which
had a lot of charm. Some of them expressed
sarcasm, others were Iranian [or Aryan?] or
funny. Liza had very well mastered the technique
of modeling in wood, and therefore her dolls
have a different character.
In the Vilna
ghetto she participated in creating a plastic
map of the ghetto. From Vilna they led her to
the camp in Estonia, and from there to Germany.
Here she was murdered a couple of days before
the capitulation of Hitler's Germany."
Of
the five children in the Deyches family, only
Susie remains alive. She can be found in
America.
Sh.E.
from her sister, Susie Deyches.
-- Sh. Kacerginski --
"Khurbn Vilne," New York, 1947, pages 187-188.
-- Joseph Mandel --
"Umgekumene yidishe kinstler," Warsaw, 1957,
Second Volume, pages 197-198.
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