The New York Times followed up on a fascinating story that has been in the news over the past few years.

It involves Dina Gottliebova Babbitt, a holocaust survivor. She is an artist who, while imprisoned at Auschwitz, was made to create portraits of imprisoned Gypsies at the request of the infamous Josef Mengele.

She tells her story in the video posted above.

The portraits are housed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland. Ms. Babbitt, now 85 and living in California, has requested that the museum return them to her — a request backed up by a unanimous resolution of Congress.

But the museum refuses, offering lame justification for holding the portraits that have been harshly criticized — for good reason.

The latest twist, as reported in The Times, is that major cartoonists and comic book artists have championed Ms. Babbitt’s cause. In 2006, 450 of the artists signed a petition in her behalf asking that her paintings be returned to her.

Now a group of them, including the legendary, Neal Adams, Joe Kubert and Stan Lee, has created a six page comic illustrating her story.

The museum should not lightly dismiss this development.

Anyone who doubts the power of cartoonists and comic book artists to present potent — indeed, searing — commentary on such matters should take a look at the brilliant Bernard Krigstein’s celebrated “Master Race” from Impact Comics (click through to turn pages).