The University of Denver’s Center for Judaic Studies and the Holocaust Awareness Institute presented “Remembering Life: A Moving Exploration of the Holocaust through Photos” by Ann Weiss. The presentation focused on understanding and celebrating the lives of those who fell victim to the Nazis. Dr. Weiss told wonderful stories about the full, rich lives of the people in the photographs.
Dr. Weiss inadvertently came upon these photographs when she was on a private tour of Auschwitz. She accidentally got separated from her group and was frantically running around the compound looking for them. A woman came out of a door and asked her if she’d like to see something no one else had seen at Auschwitz. She was taken to a room filled with 2,400 photographs. These pictures were brought to the death camp by the Jewish people, and the Nazi’s intention was to destroy all pictures that humanized them. She said these were the most beautiful pictures she has ever seen. She found her tour group and returned to America, but the pictures haunted her. She returned to Poland and asked the Communist government for permission to research and publish these pictures in 1986. Her life work for the past 24 years has been to show these pictures to people for identification and to interview survivors to talk about the lives people lived before Auschwitz. She has traveled the world with this mission.
Ann Weiss has a book titled The Last Album: Eyes from the Ashes of Auschwitz-Birkenau. She has identified many people in the pictures and she tells their stories in her book. Her goal is to document the vibrant lives all of these people lived and to celebrate their lives. Dr. Weiss points out that we know the end of their stories, so that is not the focus of her work. Her lecture was filled with wonderful, intimate stories of all these people and she is a master at bringing their lives back to life.
This lecture honored educators and students who were in attendance. Dr. Weiss believes in the value of education to teach about the Holocaust and to never let history repeat itself. The most important message that Dr. Weiss shared was that we can all do something to stop bullying and to start making this a better world. She challenged each of us to be vocal supporters of world peace and bully prevention. Dr. Weiss shared ideas of how to stop bullying in schools and within our communities. Although the Holocaust is deeply disturbing and painful, my experience was positive. I left the event fulfilled and knowing that I will do more to protect victims. This is a different type of Nontraveling Tourist activity from our usual activities. This one reminds you to become a better person,and I left believing that I will be better for having attending this experience.
For more information on Dr. Weiss’ work, please refer to her website www.thelastalbum.org
