Stela Mandel

Artist Statement

After escaping antisemitism in Poland, my parents survived the holocaust in a harsh, Siberian work camp. For the 5 years following the war they lived in a Displaced Persons’ Camp in Landsberg, Germany where my sister was born. My family were people without a country, until the United States accepted them and gave them access to the American Dream. I was the first in my extended family to be born in America and we were all grateful. After tireless work building a new life in New York City, they could finally afford a little bungalow in the Catskills during the hot summer months.