Author and illustrator Barbara Yelin and Holocaust survivor Emmie Arbel were honored for their collaboration on a graphic novel. For the work “Emmie Arbel. The Color of Memory” will be awarded the prize “Against Forgetting – For Democracy”, according to the association of the same name. That award endowed with 7,500 euros. A celebratory awards ceremony will take place today in Berlin.
Graphic novels are an independent literary genre within the world of comics. For her work, Arbel gave illustrator and writer Yelin insight into her life in various conversations over four years, she said. According to the association, he began the experiment by “telling his life story through images so that the crimes of the Nazis and their impact would not be forgotten even when there are no more witnesses in the present.”
“Barbara Yelin’s images convey history in a memorable and approachable way that text alone cannot,” the jury said in its award statement. “At the same time, they do justice to Arbel’s biography in all its complexity.” 80 years after the war ended, this book speaks to people across generations.
The “Against Forgetting – For Democracy” prize is awarded annually. The association of the same name is committed, among other things, to the work of remembering history and tackling extremism.
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