Faces of the Holocaust

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One of the youngest of the few children that survived Auschwitz

Morris Dancyger was born in Poland in 1940. His family moved to Calgary in 1952 and he went on to earn a pharmacy degree from the University of Alberta. (photo by Marnie Burkhart)

Much has been shared about the experiences of Jews during the Holocaust, but less has been told about the lives of survivors in its aftermath. A new Glenbow Museum exhibition, Here to Tell: Faces of Holocaust Survivors, reveals some of the harrowing experiences of 161 survivors while also offering glimpses into their post-war lives and the legacies they built in Calgary.

This commemorative and educational show, on view until July 3 at a temporary space in the Edison Building during the museum’s $115-million renovation, was produced by Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin, granddaughters of Holocaust survivors and co-chairs of the Calgary Jewish Federation’s holocaust and human rights remembrance and education department.

They commissioned local photographer Marnie Burkhart, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, to make portraits of 39 living survivors and 122 deceased survivors whose photos are lovingly held by a descendant. These striking black-and-white images depict distinctive and dignified people who are bursting with life. Posed against black backgrounds, their faces are beautifully etched by time and lived experience, showing both fragility and resilience. 

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Genia Rotsein, born in Poland in 1913

escaped to Uzbekistan with her husband during the Second World War. They immigrated to Canada in 1951, settling in Calgary, where her husband worked as a teacher. He died in 1952, and Genia succumbed to cancer five years later. Genia's sister and brother-in-law moved from Israel to raise her children. Here Gena Rotstein holds a picture of her grandmother. (photo by Marnie Burkhart)

The portraits, displayed in single rows on the gallery’s walls, are accompanied by stories about each survivor’s Holocaust experiences and the lives they built after the war.

For example, David Moll looks into the camera with quiet pride and contentment, his face marked by deep lines and age spots. His eyes are kind yet knowing. His face, like many others in the show, is mesmerizing. We learn that Moll saw the German SS shoot his grandfather and, after the war, his family was assigned to a house with pillows stuffed with human hair and soap marked with the word Juden – Jews. They burned these items in the backyard. 

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Eva Muskovitch, born in 1930 in Czechoslovakia

was deported to Auschwitz when she was 13, and laboured in a bomb factory, where she was beaten and starved. After liberation, she married an officer in the Czech army and later immigrated to Canada, settling in Calgary in 1964. (photo by Marnie Burkhart)

Such stories are difficult to read but are important reminders of this horrific era, as well as testaments to the resiliency of the human spirit. The exhibition includes a 30-minute documentary film, as well as 18 informational panels about the Holocaust. The panels provide valuable historical context while the film shares poignant reflections on how survivors went on to live joyous and fulfilling lives despite their pain and trauma.

The film, by Fedele Arcuri, a Calgary video producer, is deeply moving but, at times, difficult to watch due to the unimaginable horrors it recounts. For example, Benny Katz, his eyes filling with tears, tells how he was separated from his father, who he never saw again. Clearly, such trauma never disappears. But in his portrait, Katz is smiling. It’s a touching contrast. Equally poignant is his response to an Alberta teacher who was exposed in the 1980s for teaching Holocaust denial – Katz began sharing personal testimony with high school students at Calgary’s annual Holocaust Education Symposium.

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Installation view of "Here to Tell: Faces of Holocaust Survivors," at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. (photo by Lissa Robinson)

With the recent rise in anti-Semitism – two survivors pulled out because they feared becoming targets – this is a timely and important project. At its core, Here to Tell reminds us that we have an obligation to remember difficult histories but must also celebrate human resiliency and the legacies survivors leave behind. ■

Here to Tell: Faces of Holocaust Survivors at the Glenbow Museum from May 27 to July 3, 2022.

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