Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was an Austrian artist and educator who played a pivotal role in nurturing the creative spirit of children imprisoned in the Theresienstadt (Terezín) ghetto during World War II. A Bauhaus-trained artist, she was deported to Theresienstadt in December 1942, where she organized clandestine art classes for the children, using smuggled art supplies. Dicker-Brandeis believed that art could serve as a means of psychological resilience and self-expression, helping children process their traumatic experiences. She encouraged each child to sign their work, affirming their identity in the face of dehumanization . 

Before her deportation to Auschwitz in 1944, where she was murdered, Dicker-Brandeis entrusted two suitcases containing approximately 4,500 children’s drawings to Raja Engländerová, a fellow inmate. These artworks were later recovered and are now preserved in the Jewish Museum in Prague. A selection is permanently exhibited at the Pinkas Synagogue, offering poignant insights into the children’s daily lives, memories, and hopes.