Dina Babbitt American artist of Jewish origin Date of Birth: 21.01.1923 Country: USA

Biography of Dina Babbitt

Dina Babbitt, previously known as Dina Gottliebova, was an American artist of Jewish origin. She was born on January 21, 1923, in Brno, Czechoslovakia. Babbitt studied at the Prague Art School, but was expelled during the occupation, along with other Jews.

During World War II, Babbitt was imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp, where she was forced by the sadistic German doctor Josef Mengele to paint portraits of Romani prisoners. Mengele wanted Babbitt to capture the nuances of the Romani prisoners' dark skin, which was difficult to achieve with the cameras of that time. Babbitt agreed to comply, as the lives of both herself and her mother were at stake.

According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, seven of Babbitt's watercolor portraits of Romani prisoners survived after the war and were discovered outside Auschwitz in the early 1970s. These portraits were sold to individuals who were apparently unaware that Dina Gottliebova, now known as Dina Babbitt, was still alive and living in California.

After her liberation from the camp and the end of the war, Babbitt immigrated to the United States and became an animator. She fought tirelessly to have her drawings returned to her by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, but the museum's management remained unyielding. Babbitt believed that only by reclaiming the artworks she created in the concentration camp could her own soul and the souls of the Romani prisoners she depicted be freed from the captivity of Auschwitz.

In collaboration with Raphael Medoff, David S. Wyman, the director of the Institute for Holocaust Studies, and comic book legend Neal Adams, Babbitt's story was documented in a graphic work spanning six pages. Adams described her situation as "tragic" and "nightmarish." In 2008, Adams and J. David Spurlock, the publisher of Vanguard, led a campaign to gather over 450 signatures from cartoonists and comic creators in support of Babbitt.

A group of students led by their teacher, David Rapaport, from Palo Alto High School, also took action to support Babbitt's desire to regain ownership of her watercolor paintings. They reached out to representatives from the State Department, demanding the return of the artworks and submitted a written petition. Later, they wrote a book about their experience.

Babbitt, along with other surviving prisoners and artists, including Jan Komski and Felix Nussbaum, was featured in the 1999 documentary film "Eyewitness," which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Dina Babbitt was the second wife of animator Art Babbitt. She had two daughters, Michele Kane and Karin Babbitt, and three grandchildren. Her family members also actively fought for her right to reclaim her artworks. Babbitt battled an aggressive form of abdominal cancer and underwent surgery on July 23, 2008. She passed away on July 29, 2009, at the age of 87.

Babbitt's life story is a testament to her survival and resilience during the Holocaust.