Historical Perspectives: Mia Munzer Le Comte
A painting by the Czech émigré artist Mia Munzer Le Comte is on display in the office of Thanks To Scandinavia in New York, on loan from her son Douglas through arrangements by TTS Board Member and close family friend James Colias.
Mia Munzer Le Comte: "Fleeing"
The painting, called “Fleeing”, portrays the harrowing escape of persecuted Jews in Europe during the time of World War II.
With its focus on movement and its depiction of entire families on the run, the picture tells an emotional story of people forced to flee the homes that had been theirs for centuries in some cases, taking almost nothing along in order to have a chance to survive.
Mia Munzer Le Comte was born on March 15, 1909 in Prague, received her master’s degree there at the Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, and committed herself full time to painting. After the occupation of Prague on her thirtieth birthday, she escaped to Rome, Nice, Paris, Marseille, Lisbon and finally to America. While living in Paris, Mia worked privately with the celebrated Austrian Expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka.
Mia Munzer Le Comte’s autobiography “I Still Dream of Prague”, tells her story with style and poignancy. Those who are interested in Czech history between the two World Wars will be fascinated by this memoir.
The story of rescue during World War II that Thanks To Scandinavia commemorates through publications, programs, and above all, scholarships for young people today – exists against the backdrop of a dark history of persecution and murder that escalated in the Holocaust. “Fleeing” is a striking reminder that this indeed, was the fate of most Jews during World War II, and that racism and terror — and not rescue and hope — were the norm of that dark period.
By Florian Hansmann
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RSVP NOW! TTS Dinner Benefit on Feb 28
Thanks To Scandinavia is very excited to announce that on Tuesday, February 28th we will be hosting our very first dinner benefit at Swedish star chef Marcus Samuelsson’s hot new restaurant, Red Rooster. Rather than waiting for months to get a seat at this sold out restaurant, why not join us for an evening of [...]
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