Ari Glas’ 1943 wordless holocaust novel, Through the Night (reprinted in 1945 as Leilot), was initially considered too controversial to be printed in Israel.
Scott Ponemone
While both this site and Scott’s blog cover Ari Glas’s work, their focus differs. This site is tailored for book collectors, emphasizing precise bibliographic details, edition comparisons, and copy-specific variations. Scott’s blog, on the other hand, provides richer contextual depth, covering the origins of each edition and family history. Click here for Scott’s blog.
NOTE: A number of the images used in the analysis on this site are borrowed from Scott’s blog.
Ari Glas bio
- Ari Glas (ערי גלס in Hebrew), born Erich Glas,
- a German and Israeli painter, graphic designer, illustrator, and photographer.
- During World War I, Glas served as a pilot in the German Army.
- From 1919 to 1920, Glas studied at the Bauhaus school (one of his teachers was Lyonel Feininger), specializing in woodcuts and linocuts.
- Following the Nazi Party’s rise to power, Glas immigrated to Palestine in 1934.
Source of Through the Night/Leilot
Glas’ wordless story arose out of rumours of concentration camp atrocities. It was first published as Through the Night and then, in a later edition, as Leilot. Scott Ponemone has written extensively on his blog about their creation.
During a few nights in 1942, Erich was lying down sick with high fever. While he was burning with high temperature, he was having horrific visions. Still feverish, he started making sketches, and once he got better, he set out to create the full series.
From Scott Ponemone’s blog in discussion with the artist’s grandchildren.
1943 Through the Night – limited to 200 copies.
1945 Leilot (לילות in Hebrew; “Nights” in English) -edition size not stated.
1949 – some sources suggest a 2nd edition of Leilot limited to 50 copies was issued but there is no information to support this.
COMMENTS
If you disagree with something on this page, have an improvement, or have any other comment please email
wn at wordlessnovels.com
We will give you credit for any information used.