Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies
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Eli Leskley's Ghetto Diary

Born in 1911, Leskley painted 70 satiric watercolors while he was interned inTheresienstadt. The works are reflective of daily life in the ghetto. Fearing for his and his wife's life he cut up many of the orignals into small fragments, which his wife smartly hid. They were retrieved after the war and Leskley recreated each one. All of the following images relate to life in Theresienstadt. They reflect tthe irony and the complexities that was life in Theresenstadt.

For further information about Leskley and his paintings visit the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.

Ghetto Diary Art Gallery

Beit Halutz - Home in Ghetto of Zionists	Beit Halutz - Home in Ghetto of Zionists (original)	Too Many Inmates, Not Enough Water
3 Kings of the Ghetto - Cooks & Bakers	3 Kings of the Ghetto - Cooks & Bakers	Honeymoon Cottage
Freizeitgestaltung 1943	Women's Barracks	Women's Barracks (original)
Hambo, The Danish Singer	Hambo, the singer from Denmark who sang a song with the refrain, "I am dying, I am dying."	Dutch Jews Arrive From Westerbork
Stealing from the Poor	Stealing & Schleussing 1943	Stealing & Schleussing (original) 8"x12"
Do Not Build in The Diaspora!	Do Not Build in The Diaspora! (original)	Permit Stamp
Head Count	Head Count (fragment of original)	Lights Out
Death Rate 150 Daily	Death Rate 150 Daily (fragment)	Everyone's Dream 1943
Senior Inmates	Senior Inmates (original)	Insulting New Arrivals
A Dream, A Home for Tired Chalutzim	A Dream, A Home for Tired Chalutzim (original)	Jewish Anti-semitism in the Ghetto. 1943
On the Lookout for Cigarette Butts	On the Lookout for Cigarette Butts (fragment)	Birthday Cake Recipe
A Ghetto Disease	A Ghetto Disease (original)	Prisoner's Disease (Hunger)
The Ghetto Girl	The Ghetto Girl (original)	Eine Wollweste 1943
Encounter of Carriages	Encounter of Carriages (original)	Impatigo in the Ghetto
Trading Soup for Bread (original)	Trading Soup for Bread	Good Morning Herr Doktor!
Doctors are Hungry Too	Doctors are Hungry Too (original)	Clean Up Detail
Farewell Until the Common Grave	Beautified & Phony: Red Cross Inspection	Beautified & Phony: Red Cross Inspection (fragment)
Unsatisfactory Work	A Child's Dream	Six Companions
New Year's Eve 1942	Polenschutz - Rank is no Privilege	In Search of Privacy, the Kumbar
Competitors for Potatoes	Clandestine Chefs	Return After Disinfection