Szyk Hagaddah

The Szyk Haggadah is a Passover Haggadah illustrated by Arthur Szyk in Poland in the 1930s, cited by the Times of London as "worthy to be placed among the most beautiful of books that the hand of man has ever produced".

Szyk completed his Haggadah in 1936. True to Szyk's theme of portraying contemporary political issues in medieval style, his illustrations were clear and unfavorable references to the Nazis, including such detail as Nazi armbands on the Egyptians oppressing and murdering the Israelites and on the snakes, and the faces of Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Goering on two snakes. However, publishers in Poland and Czechoslovakia rejected it for fear of antagonizing Germany. In 1937, Szyk moved to London, England, where Beaconsfield Press agreed to publish his Haggaddah, on the condition that overt and direct references to the Nazis be removed; Szyk left in only a distinctive Hitler mustache on the wicked son. Soon Germany and Britain were at war, however, and Szyk's history of opposition to the Nazis in his art became an asset; the Haggadah was dedicated to King George VI, who was given the first copy.

The Haggadah continues to be reprinted to this day.

References

• Szyk Haggadah

External links

• Gallery of seven of the forty eight illustrations of the Szyk Haggadah