October 23 - May 22, 2009 at the VHEC

Records kept by the Nazis have provided much information about the systematic persecution and murder of Jews between 1933 and 1945, but offer few insights into Jewish responses to the Holocaust. Documentary traces – including diaries, letters, clandestine wartime publications and post-war eyewitness narratives – illustrate the multiplicity of Jewish reactions. Although some early histories of the Holocaust portrayed Jews as passive victims, recent accounts have contributed to a more nuanced representation of Jews as active resisters.
Jewish resistance assumed many forms and took place at the various moments and settings of the Holocaust. As Nazi power expanded across Europe, Jews responded to changing circumstances. They participated in resistance activities in ghettos, in slave labour camps, and even in concentration and extermination camps. Jews fought in 30 Jewish and 21 non-Jewish partisan units. Revolts took place in 90 ghettos and three concentration camps.
This exhibit draws inspiration from the artefacts and testimonies of survivors who settled in Canada after the war, which represent a range of responses to Nazism. The narratives speak to Jewish efforts to maintain their humanity, preserve their past, document unimaginable events and sabotage Nazi war efforts. They reflect practical responses, symbolic gestures and efforts to save lives.
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Produced by the VHEC
With support from the Isaac & Sophie Waldman Endowment Fund of the Vancouver Foundation |