Lufṭ zun ṿaser

Julian Liebermann (artist), 1882–1928

Lufṭ zun ṿaser (Air, Sun, Water)

Berlin: Farband "Oze" gezelshafṭ far yidishn gezunṭshṭits, 1926

The bright future of the children was at the core of the Berlin OZE campaign of the 1920s that called upon teachers, parents, foster families, and the children themselves to embrace fresh air, water and sun, and discover the joys of nature. The summer camps and sanatoriums that OZE organized were intended to boost the self-confidence of the children, who suffered the most from the poverty and difficult living conditions while enduring the unimaginable trauma of losing their families to famines and wars. The artwork created for public health posters like this, extolling the virtues of exercise and the outdoors, became symbols of optimism. 

Here we see an enormous tree, resembling a mighty column, that reaches toward the sky with its branches spread wide. The tree is growing out of the huge rocks of the ground reminiscent of the Exodus landscapes, and it is encircled by the fiery and surreal glow of the sun. We can see a stripe of the river and children playing and swimming in the distance. Some children are resting under the tree, a symbol of unshakable support, as they gaze into the promising horizons of the future.

At times we know little about the artists who created these posters. What we do know about the artist of this poster, the modernist Julian Liebermann, is that he created the beautiful Passover Haggadah book, published in Berlin in 1925. The book and this poster, which resonates in lettering type and art with the symbolism of his Haggadah album, comprise the extent of his known work. He died just two years after the publication of the poster, at age 46.