10/24/2025
To Paint the Earth is heartbroken to report that our dear Michael Smuss, whose life story, artwork, and fighting spirit became essential to the development of the piece, as well as to the world's understanding of the Uprising and World War II, passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 99.
Michael was the last known survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but he did much more than survive. He told his story - and that of his comrades - to the world, created haunting paintings of his experiences and, long after fighting in the Ghetto, continued to fight for the dignity and memory of those who perished.
Michael Smuss was born on April 15, 1926 in Danzig where his family lived until the rise of the N***s. He and his father moved to Warsaw in 1940. In the Ghetto, they worked at a factory repairing equipment for the German army. Michael told us about sabotaging helmets he was forced to repair, and other small acts of resistance. He fought in and survived the 1943 Uprising. What happened next were trips to a series of death camps, ending in Flossenberg, after which, in 1945, he survived a "death march," from Flossenberg to Stamsried. Nothing could ever bring him down.
We were able to film an interview with him during the pandemic which, with the help of our "To Paint the Earth" family, we were able to combine with a new version of the piece's final hymn, "We Rise." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJkFjKdOamk
Michael became personal friends with the show's creators, Daniel Levin, Jonathan Portera, and its biggest champion, Lauren Lebowitz. Out of all the things we loved about Michael, the most remarkable might be that despite everything he had experienced, and every reason he had to be angry, he just never was. He always looked to the future, and with a wicked sense of humor and boundless energy, embodied everything it meant, and means, to be a fighter.
https://apnews.com/article/michael-smuss-warsaw-ghetto-obit-ed21266330a8d526121c26881d935840
