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Number 247 on Schindler's list, artist Joseph Bau wanted to be remembered as a funny man. Sarah Hershenson writes.
Joseph Bau believed in miracles, but he did not rely on them. A survivor of the concentration camps, his credo was to be original, creative, and optimistic. These traits spilled over into his work as an artist, as the pioneer of film animation in Israel, the creator of this country's earliest commercials, and writer of books and poetry.
"What you see - do it differently" was his motto. Bau died on May 24, at the age of 81.
Every time Bau created the fonts for the opening movie titles and closing credits, they had to be different and original. Today, upon entering his studio in Tel Aviv, and seeing his pens, calligraphy tools, cameras and sketches, one feels the presence of a man who died only a month ago, but whose loss was felt around the world.
Bau's love for his wife Rebecca and their clandestine marriage in the Plaszow concentration camp were poignantly featured in the film Schindler's List.
"My parents always talked about their five years in the camps," says his daughter Tslila Bau-Cohen. "It was not done to frighten us, but rather as part of our education and to foster appreciation of life and courage. In the same way, they would bring us to the theater. Since we did not have much money, they would wait outside. Then my father would question us in good humor about the lighting, the acting, and the music. We were shown how to enjoy the moment.
"I remember my father's laughter and the way it would fill every room he occupied," says Bau-Cohen. "When he saw the movie Schindler's List, my father chuckled at the Hollywood embellishments.
"'Wow,' he said, 'the chupa is made from a sheet. Who knew from a sheet in the camps? We slept on rags - the rags and two women covered us while the Germans scoured the women's barracks looking for men, which they found - dragged outside and beat to death. But your mother and I made it through the war - a miracle.'"
Married for 53 years, Joseph Bau dedicated his memoirs, Dear God, Have You Ever Gone Hungry,...