Holocaust Exhibit Reminds Viewers Not to Forget

Nestled in a sunny alcove of Quinnipiac University’s Arnold Bernhard Library is a simple exhibit with a powerful message: Remember.

“We want to remind everyone of the danger of hate,” said Doris Zelinsky, the president of the Greater New Haven Holocaust Memory, Inc.

The Greater New Haven Holocaust Memory, Inc was established six years ago as a non-profit organization working to restore the New Haven Holocaust Memorial. The exhibit at Quinnipiac is a partnership between the “Adopt a Survivor” program and the Greater New Haven Holocaust Memory, Inc. It features seven Holocaust survivors from the local area along with a display detailing the history of the New Haven memorial.

According to Zelinsky, the Greater New Haven Holocaust Memory, Inc saw the “Adopt A Survivor” project as a way to bring history to life.

“We just though it was a wonderful way to bring their life stories together with the memorial,” Zelinsky said.

“Adopt a Survivor” is a national program that came to New Haven three years ago. The program is designed as a way to pass oral history from one generation to the next in order to extend the life and legacy of Holocaust survivors, according to a pamphlet at the exhibit.

Each survivor was paired with a student from MAKOM, a Jewish education program for teenagers. At the end of the nine-month program, each student created a storyboard describing his or her survivor’s experience.

Esther Schwartzman, a Holocaust survivor who currently lives in New Haven, is one of the stories currently on display.

Surrounded by old photos of her family is the story of Schwartzman’s survival. She recalls the last time she saw her younger sister, brother and mother.

“I was holding on to my younger sister’s hand who was holding on to my mother who was holding on to my brother with her other hand. All of a sudden I was pushed in a different direction from all of them. That was the last time I saw them,” her storyboard reads.

Schwartzman, who survived Mukachevo Ghetto, Auschwitz, Stutthof and Braunau concentration camps and the death march, said it was hope that helped her live.

“Never give up hope, no matter how hopeless a situation may be. It is probably what helped me survive,” Schwartzman’s storyboard quotes her as saying. 

In addition to the storyboards from the “Adopt a Survivor” program, the exhibit also includes a display from the Greater New Haven Holocaust Memory, Inc called “Memory and Legacy: The New Haven Holocaust Memorial”. The display traces the history of the creation of the New Haven Holocaust Memorial and their ongoing campaign to revitalize it.

Michelle Brandow, a sophomore public relations major at Quinnipiac University, visited the exhibit as part of a class assignment. According to her, the fact that there are Holocaust survivors still living in the area really brought the history to life.

“It makes you realize how close to home it is. It isn’t something that just happened all those years ago. It’s something that’s still affects us today because there are still people affected today,” Brandow said.

According to Charles Getchell, the director of Arnold Bernhard Library, the Holocaust exhibit fits in well with the University’s emphasis on community and their own permanent exhibit about the Irish famine.

For Getchell, it is important to understand and remember events like the Holocaust because they have a huge impact throughout history across the world.

“It’s important to not let them slip from our minds,” Getchell said.

The exhibit will be on display until Feb. 25 and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Quinnipiac University at 203-582-8652.