>> on the cover
Every Picture from page 1
"Portraits of Honor:
Holocaust and their lives
Portraits of Honor was created by the
Our Michigan Holocaust
since, including how they combined efforts of many individuals:
Survivors is part of the
came to Michigan. The
interviewers, photographers, videogra-
Program of Holocaust
interviews conducted in
phers, staff members and a large cadre
Survivors and Families, a
recent years are lengthier of volunteers from various organizations,
service of Jewish Senior
than the earlier ones.
including CHAIM (Children of Holocaust
Life of Metropolitan
The survivors also
Survivors Association in Michigan) and
Detroit. The multimedia
were asked what quali-
Jewish Senior Life. Professor Sidney
project uses modern tech-
ties or circumstances
Bolkosky, a noted historian at the
nology to portray one of
helped them to survive,
University of Michigan-Dearborn and
the darkest eras in Jewish
and what message they
director of its Voice/Vision Holocaust
history in a way that is edu-
would like to leave for
Survivor Oral History Archive, served as a
cational and easy to digest.
future generations.
historical adviser and valuable resource.
A barcode reader sys-
"Those messages are
"So many people have been involved
tem allows visitors to view
very powerful," Silow
— good people, caring people, devoted
recorded interviews with
said.
more than 400 Michigan
Some of the messages
(and a few Windsor) sur-
reflected the survivors'
vivors on a 65-inch plasma
fears about another
screen. Survivors can be
attack against the Jews.
accessed by name or by
During his interview,
IPA\
other experience-related
survivor Otto Herczeg
categories such as Hidden
said, "Learn how to pro-
Survivors Manya Feldman,
Children, members of the
top, and Ilona Havas, both of tect yourself. Learn how
Resistance, death camp
to use weapons to defend
West Bloomfield, took part
prisoners or those who
yourself.
Always stand
in Portraits of Honor.
escaped to Russia or other
up to defend your beliefs
countries.
and your religion. Fight
The exhibit begins with a photograph
anti-Semitism. Don't follow false hopes.
of a survivor, which then fades into a one-
We don't know what's on the other side;
page description. The click of a button
maybe it's better."
produces the complete interview. For those
Other messages were more hopeful,
want to know more, over 100 hypertext
such as that provided by Paula Marks-
links provide images and information
Bolton: "To love each other. It should never
on specific places or subjects such as
make any difference what nationality, what
Auschwitz or the Lodz ghetto. A digitally
religion, what color of skin a per-
Dr. Charles Silow
produced map traces each survivor's jour-
son is; we must love each other.
ney throughout Europe and beyond.
We must speak up whenever there
"It's electronic and interactive, which
is injustice. Together we will
makes it a wonderful learning tool for
make a better world. Love and
kids," said Dr. Charles Slow, who initiated
understanding. My hope speaking
the Portraits of Honor project in 1999; he
for over 18 years at the Holocaust
also directs the Program for Holocaust
Memorial Center to the people
Survivors and Families.
that come through is to tell my
The exhibit, started with grant money
story, my message and help the
from the Jewish Fund and later by private
ones that cannot help themselves:'
donors, also will include a case displaying
Silow explained that, unlike
artifacts that have been loaned or donated
other oral history projects,
by the survivors and their families: pho-
Portraits of Honor is designed to
tographs, Shabbat candlesticks, prayer
provide "snippets" that will hope-
books, Jewish New Year cards and other
fully motivate visitors' desires to
memorabilia brought from Europe and
learn more about the era.
preserved over the years.
Silow started the project in
Silow, whose parents both survived
1999 while he was working at the
the war, has a personal and longstand-
former Sinai Hospital in Detroit.
ing interest in the subject. He wrote his
He began by photographing local
doctoral dissertation on the long-term
survivors and displaying the pic-
effects of the Holocaust on those who lived tures at the Jewish Community
through its horrors: how they survived
Centers and at various schools in
and how their experiences affected their
the area. The early photos were
post-war lives.
black and white, which Silow felt
"I found that the pain continues; it
best portrayed the features and
never really goes away," he said. "This pro-
emotions of the subjects.
gram is to honor the survivors, what they
"Looking at their faces and
went through and their accomplishments
their eyes, you could see their
since.
beauty, their strength and their
During interviews conducted by Silow
resilience as well as their pain','
This beautiful Rosh Hashanah card from Vilna,
and dozens of volunteers, survivors
he said.
Lithuania, from the family of the late Gershon
were asked about their situations before
Like the proverbial village that
Lipenholtz, is an artifact in the exhibit.
the war, their experiences during the
comes together to raise a child,
10 April 28 2011
people said Silow. "I'm getting calls every
day now; people are very excited about the
opening of the exhibit."
Professor Guy Stern, who served as
interim director of the HMC after found-
ing Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig died and is
director of its International Institute of the
Righteous, is glad to see the project come
to fruition.
"Dr. Silow and his helpmates have done
a great service to chronicle the people
in this area who have endured and per-
severed after the horrors of those years,"
Stern said. "Most of them have been able
to build on the shards of their pasts and
create new and effective lives."
According to Silow, many survivors con-
tinue to be fearful about the recurrence
of another tragedy like the Holocaust.
Some feel the world is not a safe place and
worry excessively about their children.
Certain events, such as terrorist attacks,
can trigger these fears. Much of Silow's
work involves providing support and reas-
surance.
"They say time heals all wounds, but
not this',' he said. "It's always there; it was
just too much. The holidays are especially
hard. When they share their experiences
and form bonds of friendship, it helps."
Another 100 portraits will be added to
the exhibit in the near future, with more to
follow as they become available. The win-
dow of time left to document the remain-
ing survivors' stories is rapidly closing;
even those who were small chil-
dren during the war are now in
their 70s or beyond.
"Many survivors have already
passed away, and now we have
their living legacies',' said Silow,
who estimates close to 1,000 sur-
vivors live in Metro Detroit.
Stephen Goldman, HMC execu-
tive director, is excited about the
culmination of the years of plan-
ning and hard work that went
into the project.
"The only way to teach people
about an event like the Holocaust,
that involved so many people, is
by personalizing and individual-
izing it:' he said. "Portraits of
Honor will do that by tracing
the histories of these people. You
can't talk about what happened
to 6 million or 11 million people
effectively, but when you talk
about one family, one person, it's
different. It might be your neigh-
bor or someone you see at the
grocery store
The exhibit dedication will be
at 2:45 p.m. Sunday, May 1, at the
HMC, 28123 Orchard Lake Road,
Farmington Hills, following a
program commemorating Yom
HaShoah at 1 p.m. For informa-
tion, call Selma Silverman,
(248) 553-2400.
LI