Steinhardt, Bernice

Personal

Born in Belgium; daughter of Max and Esther Nisenthal Krinitz.

Addresses

Office—Art and Remembrance, 5505 Connecticut Ave. NW, No. 131, Washington, DC 20015-2601.

Career

Author. Worked in a variety of positions for U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); founder, Esther Project and Art and Remembrance.

Awards, Honors

One Hundred Best Books inclusion, New York Public Library, 2005, for Memories of Survival.

Writings

FOR YOUNG ADULTS

(With mother, Esther Nisenthal Krinitz) Memories of Survival, illustrated by Krinitz, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2005.

Sidelights

The daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Bernice Steinhardt grew up with her mother's unique story of survival informing her life. Esther Nisenthal Krinitz escaped death in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany by running away with her sister and posing as a Catholic farm girl. The sisters evaded the Nazis for the duration of World War II, laboring for local farmers, but were never to see the rest of their family again. Years later, when she was fifty years old, Krinitz began to use her skills as a seamstress to create striking pieces of art that depicted her wartime experiences.

Inspired by her mother's work, Steinhardt formed the nonprofit organization Art and Remembrance to showcase these textiles, as well as other works of art that feature similar themes. As she remarked on her organization's Web site, "Art and Remembrance aims to use [the power of personal narrative in various forms of art] … to illuminate the effects of war, intolerance, and other forms of social injustice on its victims. By bringing to light the works of those who have told the stories of their struggles in art, our organization aims to serve as a force for peace and social justice. By allowing audiences, especially children, to see and feel war and injustice through the eyes and hearts of its victims, we hope to create a sympathy and compassion great enough to change people's perceptions forever."

Working together with Steinhardt, Krinitz tells her story in Memories of Survival. Brought to life by reproductions of her unique artwork, mother and daughter evoke Krinitz's own idyllic childhood, her persecution as a Jew during the Holocaust, and her emergence from the war. Reviewing the powerful tale, Robin Smith wrote in Horn Book that "Esther's strong memories and clear storytelling move the heartbreaking tale forward and leave the reader stunned." Rachel Kamin, writing in School Library Journal, also praised Memories of Survival, indicating that "the intricate, multifaceted artwork uniquely illustrates the horrors of the Holocaust." A

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Kirkus Reviews writer also found the work to be remarkable, writing that Steinhardt's narrative adds clarity by "highlighting the increasingly difficult environment Jews faced with the impending dangers of Nazi rule." A Publishers Weekly reviewer deemed the illustrated memoir powerful and full of difficult emotions, a work that "also stand[s] as one woman's testimony to hope, endurance and the unquenchable passion to bear witness."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Horn Book, November-December, 2005, Robin Smith, review of Memories of Survival, p. 737.

Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2005, review of Memories of Survival, p. 1082.

Publishers Weekly, October 10, 2005, review of Memories of Survival, p. 61.

School Library Journal, November, 2005, Rachel Kamin, review of Memories of Survival, p. 165; March, 2006, John Peters, review of Memories of Survival, p. 90.

ONLINE

Art and Remembrance Web site,http://www.artandremembrance.org/ (September 22, 2008).

Nextbook Web site,http://www.nextbook.org/ (January 16, 2007), Tessa DeCarlo, "A Stitch in Time: Seamstress Esther Nisenthal Krinitz Used the Tools of Her Trade to Capture the Horrors of War."