The work of sculptor, Auschwitz survivor and human rights campaigner Naomi Blake, who has died aged 94, proved her affirmation of hope and faith in humanity. In spite of her Holocaust experiences, Naomi believed “there is something positive in the human figure – there is a lot of good in people…with my past, if I were pessimistic, somehow, it wouldn’t have been worthwhile surviving”.
Born Naomi Düm in Mucacevo, former Czechoslovakia, Naomi was the youngest of the ten children of Chay-Adel and Elazar Düm. In 1942 there were 32 members of the family, including her parents four grandparents, nine siblings, six spouses and ten young nieces and nephews. By 1945 only eight members remained; the rest had been murdered during the Holocaust.
Her mother had died of pneumonia in early 1944, but in that year Naomi’s family were rounded up and forced onto a crowded cattle truck to Auschwitz. Upon arrival, she and her sister Malchi were separated from the rest of their family, only learning much later of their fate in the gas chambers. Naomi and Malchi were set to work in a munitions factory, but bravely learned to sabotage the bombs they were assembling. Living off watered down soup in squalid, insanitary conditions, Naomi recalled the solidarity of inmates and local residents of a nearby town sneaking food to her. When the Russians came to liberate the camps in 1945, Naomi and Malchi were sent on a death march and seized the opportunity to escape, hiding in the snow whilst the retreating Nazi soldiers fired shots at them.
After both girls reunited with the few surviving members of their family in Mukacevo, Naomi left to fulfil her dream of building a Jewish homeland. She made her way to Italy to board an illegal ship, the Enzo Sereni, bound for Palestine. The boat was intercepted by the British and the passengers taken to Atlit Prison near Haifa.
Following the UN decision to partition Palestine, Naomi joined the Palmach, set up to defend the borders. She was hit in the neck by shrapnel from a British bullet and hospitalised for several weeks in the Hadassah Hospital. There she first started to sculpt, carving a dog from olive wood. Following the British withdrawal and the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, Naomi joined the Women’s Division of the Israel Defence Forces and was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant.
In 1952, she met and married a young German refugee, Asher Blake, who was active in Hashomer Hatsair in the 1930’s, and they moved to London.They had two children and settled in Muswell Hill. Asher encouraged Naomi to pursue her love of sculpture as a career and she enrolled at the Hornsey School of Art. Naomi exhibited at the Salon de Paris in the 1960’s and was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, becoming a Fellow in 1993. She is widely exhibited, with 50 of her works currently on public display all over Britain. They include Norwich, Bristol and Portsmouth Cathedrals, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Norris Lea, Kingsbury, Oxford and Leeds Synagogues. Her sculptures are also in The Hebrew and Tel Aviv Universities.
Much of Naomi’s work focuses on the expression of her experiences, and is principally optimistic. It stands determinedly to help keep alive the legacy of the six million slaughtered Jews, as well as promoting her vision for uniting different faiths, her confidence in humanity and her hope for the future. Her daughter, my aunt Anita Peleg, published two books devoted to her life and work, Naomi Blake: Dedication in Sculpture, a comprehensive catalogue of her sculptures, while Glimmer of Hope: The Story of Naomi Blake tells the story of how she defied the odds and survived to bring joy to thousands.
She enveloped her family in her characteristic warmth and good humour. She found the positive in stories from her past – the kindness of her mother, acts of generosity by strangers and the joy of moments of good fortune. Her positive outlook, will to make everyone see the good in one another and desire for peace never wavered. Watching the 1990 World Cup with her grandchildren, Naomi laughed at the sight of 22 grown men running around a football pitch, and asked – “why can’t you give them all a ball?”
Naomi is survived by her children Jonathan and Anita (Nin), their spouses Isabel and Gidi, step-daughter Helen, grandchildren Lucy, David, Simon, Ben and Mikey, their spouses Sam and Sophie, great-grandson Noah, step-grandchildren ShaRon, Gidi, Tamar, Ruti and Ido and extended family.
Lucy Blake
Naomi Blake: born March 11,1924.
Died November 7, 2018
