The Lion of Judah

LION of JUDAH, copyright ã 1996, Hermann Gurfinkel
All rights reserved.

Unlike the other works in this gallery, the Lion of Judah was commissioned on a more serious set of circumstances. Hermann was contacted by a retired German teacher, Dieter Corbach. Corbach asked if Hermann would create a memorial image of a former principal of the school Hermann had attended in the 1930s. The principal saved hundreds of Jewish students from the holocaust, in a tale of courage and strength that is found only in the
most desperate times in the human condition.

Hermann's sculpture was not intended to illustrate the horrors of the holocaust or the guilt of the nazis like so many post-war depictions. Instead, he wanted to point to himself, to his faith, and the strength to endure centuries of persecution and pain. "It's a hard thing," he said, "to be the chosen people. Everyone hates you for what you are or think you are."

The lion stands on top of a crown which depicts the twelve tribes of Israel. The other foot is on a globe, illustrating the proliferation of the Jewish faith. With the Ten Commandments in one paw, the lion reaches skyward and cries out
to yet a higher power.

This LION OF JUDAH is a dynamic piece, more than a meter in height. The original stands atop the Klibansky Memorial fountain in the center of Cologne, Germany, a remembrance of the principal who, with a thousand souls, were taken off one day by the SS and never returned.
There is a limited edition of six (6) copies available of this piece.