Essays

The following collection of essays were originally published in the VHEC magazine, Zachor (Remember), in April 2005 when the exhibition was on view to the public. The essays, which accompany Faces of Loss, illuminate important exhibition themes from diverse perspectives and include the voices of a Holocaust survivor, second generation community member, and former VHEC staff.

Faces of Loss

By Robbie Waisman, Holocaust survivor

The extraordinary exhibit Faces of Loss now on display is the conception of our Executive Director, Roberta Kremer and her staff. Initially, I thought it would serve well to fill in between our various major exhibits. I must admit that I was totally wrong, having seen the photos of the … Continue Reading »

Students Put Faces to the Number Six Million

By Frieda Miller, former VHEC Education Coordinator

The current exhibit, Faces of Loss, has elicited a strong emotional response from visitors, especially from those whose photos are on display, among them survivors and the second generation.

As Inge Manes, who survived the Holocaust as a child hidden in a Belgium convent, observed, “It is very emotional … Continue Reading »

Will the Exact Number of Jewish Victims Ever Be Known?

By Jonathan Friedrichs, former VHEC Research Assistant

The fundamental claim of Holocaust deniers is that the Nazis did not murder 6 million European Jews and did not implement a policy of genocide. Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel was, until his deportation in March 2005, Canada’s most vociferous proponent of this form of anti-Semitism. … Continue Reading »

Watching the Exhibit Grow

By Naomi Seixas, former VHEC Research Assistant

The past three months have been a powerful time for me as a program assistant at the vhec. I have had the gift of watching the exhibit Faces of Loss grow. What began as a concept became over time, a deeply evocative commemorative illustration of family, community, tragedy, … Continue Reading »

L’Dor Va’Dor From Generation to Generation

By Rhoda L. Friedrichs, second generation community member

I don’t remember ever being told about the Holocaust – and at the same time, I don’t remember a time in my life when I did not know about it. I was born in New York a year after the war ended (the only war … Continue Reading »

Faces of Loss

By Roberta Kremer, former VHEC Executive Director

Faces of Loss focuses solely on the victims of the Holocaust with the goal of humanizing what has become an abstraction of numbers. Many vhec exhibits, such as Open Hearts-Closed Doors, have focused on the experiences of survivors. We know the stories of survivors, and in many cases have … Continue Reading »

Families

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