Art and designפרנק מייסלר

Frank Meisler

Frank Meisler was an Israeli architect and sculptor known for his series of Kindertransport memorials in Europe.

1929 to 2018Kindertransport memorial sculpturesStudio and gallery in Old JaffaJudaica sculpture

Died: 24 March 2018, Tel Aviv
Occupation: sculptor, architect
Education: University of Manchester

Frank Meisler was born in 1929 in Gdańsk

Meisler was born into a Jewish family in Danzig, now Gdańsk. In August 1939 he escaped with other Jewish children on the Kindertransport, traveling via Berlin and the Netherlands to London. His parents were later murdered at Auschwitz.

In London he lived with relatives and attended school in Harrow. He did national service in the Royal Air Force. He then studied architecture at the University of Manchester and worked on the construction of Heathrow Airport.

He moved to Israel and settled in the Old City of Jaffa, where he opened a studio and gallery. He began sculpting as a hobby, and it became his profession. His work dealt with Judaica and figures from Jewish life, the Bible and Zionism.

His public works include a memorial to David Ben-Gurion, the interior of the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue in Moscow and a 2011 memorial in Kaliningrad Oblast. He published an autobiography in 1996. He died in Jaffa in 2018.

Frank Meisler's life in 9 milestones

1939
Escaped Danzig on the Kindertransport to London.
1953
Married Batya (Phyllis) Hochman.
1996
Published his autobiography.
1998
Completed the interior of the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue in Moscow.
1999
Received the Franz Kafka gold medal from the Czech Academy of Art.
2006
His Kindertransport memorial was erected at Liverpool Street station in London.
2008
His Kindertransport memorial was erected at Friedrichstraße station in Berlin.
2012
Received Germany's Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit.
2018
Died in Jaffa.