"Liebe Mutti!"

Israeli artist Inbar Chotzen first learned about her Berlin relatives through their estate. Rather late she learned that some of her ancestors had been victims of Nazi persecution. Based on 369 postcards sent home by members of the Chotzen family from the Theresienstadt concentration camp between 1943 and 1944, she set out to trace her German family.

In a careful examination of her family's fate, Inbar Chotzen painted over digitised copies of these postcards with scenes from the family's everyday life – from a time before political persecution destroyed their life together.

We present this collaborative project with and in the neighbouring Liebermann-Villa am Wannsee (Liebermann Villa on Lake Wannsee, Colomierstr. 3, 14109 Berlin) and our house, accompanying the publication of the book of the same name, which will be presented by Inbar Chotzen and Dr Ruth Preusse at the House of the Wannsee Conference on 16 October 2025 (register for the book presentation here!).

From the book:

“Liebe Mutti!" is an artistic exploration and response to a shocking family legacy - and a striking testimony to National Socialist persecution.

The Israeli artist Inbar Chotzen knows her Berlin relatives exclusively through their family archive, which includes over 300 postcards sent from Theresienstadt to Berlin. These moving testimonies are preserved in the House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Educational Site.

Inbar Chotzen carefully painted over digitized copies of the original postcards depicting scenes from the Chotzen family's daily lives, thereby confronting the brutal separation and devastation her relatives experienced.

This book is a collection of Inbar Chotzen's artwork shown together with documentation of the family's persecution and detailed historical information.