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A new film unspools the storied life of Jewish outsider artist and Nuremberg trials guard Nathan Hilu

JL;DR SUMMARY The film "Nathan-ism," directed by Elan Golod, profiles the life of Nathan Hilu, a Jewish outsider artist and former U.S. Army guard during the Nuremberg trials. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Lower East SideJewish ArtistsMemoryDocumentary FilmNuremberg TrialsOral HistoryNathan HiluElan GolodOutsider ArtHistorical Witness

Places mentioned

New York, United States
"That's where my pictures come from. In 2012, Tablet Magazine called Hilu the most significant Jewish Outsider artist you've never heard of. With the documentary, Israeli-American filmmaker and editor Elan Golod is hoping to change that. He's spent the past eight years making Nathan-ism, which chronicles both Hilu's daily life as a lonely, aging veteran and the history of the Nuremberg trials. The result is a movie that takes us inside the obsessive mind and cluttered apartment of a unique New York artist who is desperate for his story as a witness to one of the most significant trials in history to be heard."
Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany
"Jewish artist Nathan Hilu is hardly ever without a Sharpie or crayon in his hand, drawing something from his memories. Hilu was a Lower East Side native who, as a U.S. soldier at 19, was assigned to guard Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials. The experience left an indelible mark upon him: In the ensuing decades, Hilu processed these memories by obsessively creating art from this time in his life, often repeating the same images, simple figures with words written around them in a messy if compelling scribble. "

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Cairo Item ID 74723
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Retrieved 2026-02-06 05:31:31 UTC
Curated 2026-02-06 08:31:39 UTC