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In 1949, when a decision was made to prepare an appropriate national flag for the new office of the President of the State of Israel, the task was assigned to Lotta Engel-Hecker . No one was more suited to the job than this lady, who had already proved her skill in designing and embroidering ritual objects and did so with a deep sense of mission.
While still in Germany, Lotta Engel steered her profession -- applied art -- toward Jewish ritual objects. A graduate of the School of Applied Art in Hamburg, she continued her vocation in Berlin, where she specialized in very precise embroidery, employing gold and silver threads implanted in extremely thin tubes.
The isolation of Jews from the surrounding society at the start of the Nazi regime caused an increased awareness and appreciation of religious traditions. As her family was one of the first to espouse Zionism in Germany, Engel's motifs were mostly Jewish. She tried to revive interest in ritual objects, imbuing them with much expression and an additional dimension of beauty. She worked with the same materials beloved by her ancestors -- velvet, silk, gold, and silver -- creating designs that were simple, elegant, and expressive.
When she reached Israel in the late 1930s, Engel was requested to design ark curtains for three synagogues. Her style, with its melding of modern art and traditional values, ideally answered the needs of religious immigrants from Central Europe.
Since the strength of her creations lay not only in designing but also in the guaranteed quality of her work, the newly established state turned to her whenever important decorative projects were envisioned. Having cherished the hope since her childhood of seeing Herzl's vision come true, Engel was only too proud and happy to accept these commissions. She designed and made the pennants for the car of the first President, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, as well as four large flags for the ship in which he planned to sail to Europe and America and a silver-framed banner for his office. The menorah, symbol of the State of Israel, appeared on all these flags: in white applique on a blue background for the ship's flags, in silver embroidery on blue silk for the pennants and the banner.
Every one of the thousands of stitches that made up the menorah with the two olive branches and the word "Israel" (in Hebrew) had to be precise in placement and size. Tiny silver spirals held by threaded silk imparted a three-dimensional feel to each flag.
When the Weizmann Institute was dedicated in 1949, a need arose for the symbol of the Weizmann Institute to be embroidered on the academic gowns that would serve Institute scientists on formal occasions. Lotta Engel accepted this task and undertook it with a sense of deep dedication to the man who was not only the President of Israel but now also President of the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Chaim Weizmann. Several of these gowns can be found to this day in the Wix Auditorium -- tokens of a craft rich with tradition that did not survive the transition to an age of advanced technology.
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