"Rescuers of the Holocaust: Portraits by Gay Block," opening this week in Schatten Gallery, will present the story of 105 Europeans--representing 12 countries--who hid, protected and saved Jews in Europe during World War II. The documentary exhibit, which runs March 15-May 15, describes rescue, defines the rescuer and addresses the phenomenon of altruistic behavior.
Seeking to portray the heroes rather than the villains and victims of the Holocaust traditionally emphasized, Block and Malka Drucker interviewed and photographed these rescuers from 1986-88. In their book, Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust (Holmes & Meier, 1992), Block and Drucker present 49 of these heroes who thought it nothing less than their duty to perform these acts of valor.
"Rescuers of the Holocaust" includes portraits and snapshots taken from rescuer family albums, many of which are photos of the families who were saved. A video titled "They Risked Their Lives" features interviews with some of the rescuers. The video will be shown at Schatten Gallery, and also will be screened at The Goethe-Institut Atlanta at 7 p.m., March 15, as part of a film series the Institut will run in conjunction with Emory's exhibit.
A symposium from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 19, will officially open the exhibit. Panelists will include photographer Block, who will present a slide presentation; Marion Pritchard, a Dutch rescuer featured in Block's exhibit and book; and Deborah Dwork, associate professor with the
Child Study Center at Yale University, who will speak on "To Save a Life: Women's Work in the Shoah." Panel moderators Deborah Lipstadt, associate professor of modern Jewish and Holocaust studies, and David Blumen-thal, professor of Judaic studies, also will contribute to the discussion. The symposium will be held in 303 Geosciences.
Following the symposium, a reception and book signing with photographer Gay Block will be held in Schatten Gal-lery from 4:30 to 6 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.
Hours are:
8 a.m. to midnight, Monday-Thursday; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; noon to midnight, Sunday. For library hours, call 727-6868, for further information.
Pictured on page one of this issue in the "Inside" box is Gertrude Luckner who began her work in the early 1930s, visiting Jewish institutions and urging Jews to leave Germany. "I had some Swiss contacts and I helped some get out." She was arrested for these activities in 1943 and sent to Ravensbrueck, a women's camp where 92,000 lost their lives, and stayed there until the war's end. She was the first German to go to Israel in 1951. In 1945, she started and still publishes The Frieburger Rundbrief, a bi-yearly publication of dialogues between Christians and Jews. "I hope someday hatred will be a part of the past."
-- Joyce Bell