Part of Sir Martin Gilbert’s works in the Heritage Room.

ANNA BROUSSARD | COLLEGIAN

 

Some six million Jews died during the Holocaust — the genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II. An exhibit commemorating the end of these persecutions, “Remembering the Shoah,” will be displayed April 3 with a recital in McNamara Recital Hall at 5 p.m. April 4.   

Beginning at 11:30 a.m. today, “Remembering the Shoah” will feature a time of reflection in the Dow Room G with a series of lectures in the Hoynak Room following at 3:30 p.m. and displays of Churchill scholar Sir Martin Gilbert’s works. 

“The Shoah is the Hebrew word for what everybody calls the Holocaust — more specifically related to the Jews,” Assistant Professor of German Jeffery Hertel said. “You can’t really fathom it; the scale of it is just so big and so terrible. You can list facts, and it still doesn’t fully allow you to comprehend what’s going on.”

According to Lori Curtis, archivist and special collections librarian, Dow Room G will have the exhibit set up for people to stop in. 

“Folks can come and reflect on the Holocaust,” Curtis said. “They can be looking at the photographs that I’ll have up on easels around the room. They can sit and listen to music and reflect on all of this.”

Another exhibit, hanging on the new drywall in the first floor of the library, according to Associate Professor of French Anna Navrotskaya, came from Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, Israel, and will be on display until April 7. 

“It is called ‘The Anguish of Liberation as Reflected in Art.’ It features 11 paintings and drawings with accompanying biographical information about their authors,” Navrotskaya said in an email. “Yad Vashem offers several exhibits that can be ordered free of charge, printed and displayed. I chose this one, because it spoke of anguish, yes, but also of hope and humanity that does not die that easily inside us, even under horrific circumstances.”

Hertel said the lectures include talks from Curtis, Professor Emeritus of History Tom Conner, and visiting Professor of Management of Purdue University Tom Brush. 

“On the one hand, we needed informational stuff,” Hertel said. “We have Brush lecturing, whose father was actually a surgeon in World War II and witnessed the liberation of the camps, and others also talking about the end of the war in general.”

According to Hertel, the April 4 event, a recital in McNamara Recital Hall, will feature music composed in the concentration camps, poetry written by German-Jewish poets, and a commemorative prayer by Assistant Professor of Classics Joshua Fincher. 

“We have a guest pianist coming to town, Eric Wagner, who has performed all over the country,” Hertel said. “I believe there are also some Hillsdale students, who will also be playing some musical accompaniment, as well as a local choir group.”

According to Curtis, “Remembering the Shoah” is intended to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive as time passes, ensuring it is never repeated again. 

“It’s becoming distant history to a lot of the students,” Curtis said. “We just need to remember this and hopefully work toward it never happening again to any group of people.”

Hertel said along with the informational lectures and exhibit, the recital will provide students and visitors a greater understanding of what this anniversary is commemorating. 

“In combination with the more informational talks we’re going to be having, I think it is as close as one can get to even having a chance at grasping the enormity of the crimes of Nazi Germany and the tragedy of the Jewish people,” Hertel said

The exhibit and events have been put together over the past year by a committee including faculty from several college departments, according to Hertel. 

“We’ve been talking sort of vaguely about this since last fall, and then a couple of months ago, plans started to materialize,” Hertel said. “A group of professors from French, economics, music, classics, German, and theology met together and decided that we wanted to try and do something to commemorate the Shoah.”

The work is very important because of the severity of what is being remembered, Hertel said. 

“It’s been 80 years since the end of World War II and on the one hand, that seems like it’s been forever,” Hertel said. “But it’s actually horribly recent. Since the late 1990s, many of the people who committed these crimes and have witnessed these crimes have all passed away. If we don’t continue to think about and contemplate these events, then there’s the chance we might forget about them.” 

Navrotskaya said that this experience is deeply embedded in her culture and this commemoration is very special to her.

“I am Jewish, and, as you know, it is nearly impossible to find a Jewish family untouched by the Shoah and the war. To us, it is not a distant past, its memory is part of who we are. The dead are living through us,” Navrotskaya said. “I cannot even describe how important, how meaningful it feels to see so many wonderful people coming together, not willing and not allowing them to forget it.”