Frank Meisler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frank Meisler
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Portrait of Frank Meisler on his 87th birthday (30 Dec. 2012), Old City Jaffa-Tel Aviv
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| Born | December 30, 1925 |
| Died | March 24, 2018 (aged 92) Jaffa, Israel
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| Resting place | Givat Brenner cemetery, Israel |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Frank Meisler (born December 30, 1925 – died March 24, 2018) was a talented Israeli architect and sculptor. He was born in a city called Free City of Danzig (which is now Gdańsk, Poland). Frank Meisler grew up in England and later moved to Israel in 1956. He was married to Batya (Phillis) Hochman and they had two daughters. He passed away in Jaffa in 2018.
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Frank Meisler's Life Story
Frank Meisler was born into a Jewish family in Danzig. When he was a boy, in August 1939, he was part of the Kindertransport. This was a special rescue mission that brought Jewish children from Europe to safety in Great Britain. Frank traveled with other children through Berlin to the Netherlands and then to Liverpool Street station in London. Sadly, his parents later died during the Holocaust.
Frank was raised by his aunt in London. He went to school in Harrow and then served in the Royal Air Force. He studied architecture at the University of Manchester. He even helped with the building of Heathrow Airport.
In the late 1950s, Frank moved to Israel. There, he opened his own workshop and art gallery in the Old City of Jaffa. He created many public sculptures. These include a memorial for David Ben-Gurion in Israel and Eternal Kiev in Kiev.
Kindertransport Memorials
Frank Meisler created a series of important memorials for the Kindertransport. These sculptures remind us of the children who were saved.
- Kindertransport – The Arrival was placed at Liverpool Street station in London in 2006.
- Trains to Life – Trains to Death was put at Friedrichstraße station in Berlin in 2008.
- The Departure was set up at Gdańsk Główny station in 2009.
- Crossing to Life was placed at the Hook of Holland in 2011.
- The final parting was put at Hamburg Dammtor station.
Frank also designed the inside of the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue in Moscow. He made sculptures for Russia's National War Memorial too. In 2011, a memorial was built in Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg). It remembers the Jewish prisoners who died in the Palmnicken massacre.
Amazing Sculptures and Designs
Frank Meisler created many beautiful and meaningful artworks. Here are some of his notable projects:
- A sculpture in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
- A monument in Israel dedicated to David Ben-Gurion.
- After 1987, a memorial in front of the Mannheim synagogue. This monument uses stones from the main synagogue that was destroyed in 1938. It remembers the Jewish people who suffered.
- In 1998, he designed the interior of the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue (Moscow).
- In 1999, he designed the foyer, prayer room, and Torah ark in the Golden Rose Synagogue (Dnipro).
- In 2008, he created a statue of Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference in Sochi.
- In 2009, he made The Eternal Kyiv in Kyiv.
- In 2011, a memorial in Yantarny, Kaliningrad Oblast was built. It shows hands reaching to the sky. This remembers about 3,000 Jewish women prisoners who were killed in January 1945.
- A monument to Christopher Columbus in Madrid.
- A fountain in Jerusalem.
Awards and Special Honors
Frank Meisler received many important awards for his work.
- In 1999, the Czech Academy of Art gave him the 'Franz Kafka gold medal'.
- He was made an honorary academician by both the Russian Academy of Arts and the Ukrainian Academy of Arts in 2002. This means he was recognized as a top artist.
- In 2012, he received the Federal Republic of Germany's Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit. This award recognized his efforts to improve relations between Germany and Jewish people, and between Germany and Israel.
- He was also given 'The Freedom of the City of London' honorary award. He even had dinner at Prince Charles's table!
- In 2018, after he passed away, a street sign was placed on the wall of his childhood home in Gdańsk. This was done by the late Mayor Adamowicz to honor him.
Gallery
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Trains to Life – Trains to Death, Friedrichstraße station, Berlin
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Die Abreise in front of Gdańsk Główny station
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Kindertransport Monument Hoek van Holland Channel Crossing to Life, Hook of Holland
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Kindertransport – Der letzte Abschied - The final parting, Hamburg Dammtor station
See also
- Israeli sculpture
- Visual arts in Israel
