28 | APRIL 9 • 2020 E liana Adler has not been to Israel, but her photo, “Winter Reflection, ” is on dig- ital display from there. Adler, 13, an eighth grader at Tappan Middle School in Ann Arbor, is among 20 winners of the Jewish Lens @ Museum of the Jewish People 2020 Competition held through the Museum of the Jewish People (formerly Beit Hatfutsot) in Tel Aviv. The program challenges Jewish teens worldwide to photograph and describe their connection to Judaism. The museum is closed during the coronavi- rus pandemic, but its exhibits are available for viewing online, including the gallery of Jewish Lens winners and the permanent exhibit on historic synagogues as well as family photos from around the world. Adler’ s winning image, taken at Ann Arbor’ s Gallup Park, shows her in front of a large mir- ror. “I have always preferred nature photog- raphy over taking pictures of people, so I knew I wanted to involve nature, ” explained Adler, whose family belongs to Beth Israel Congregation. “Judaism is connected to the natural world. The Torah talks about protecting the Earth and leaving it for future generations. Natural preserves, like where this photo was taken, help save habitats for the future. Nature is a place for reflection, which is why I chose a mirror, and where I find peace. ” The 2020 competition was the largest in the program’ s five-year history, with more than 2,000 participants from 23 countries. Although the museum had to cancel the March 22 opening reception for the photogra- phy exhibit, competition organizers scheduled a replacement celebration on Zoom so the win- ning photographers could be together online. Adler texted a link to friends and family so they could watch. Adler entered the competition after watching her sister enter two years ago, when Beth Israel Religious School had a Jewish Lens curriculum. “I thought it would be a good new experi- ence for me to try to connect photography with another aspect of my life, ” said Adler, who used a Panasonic Lumix, a bat mitzvah gift from her grandparents. Her interest in photography launched at a zoo camp, where she started taking pictures of animals using the family camera. “Photography helps me notice little things that I otherwise wouldn’ t, ” said Adler, who aspires to be a wildlife biologist or a park rang- er. “I think this quarantine is a good time to spend in my backyard and get pictures of birds and squirrels. ” Visit bh.org.il/jewish-lens-winners-2020; other museum displays at bh.org.il/staying-indoors-visit- beit-hatfutsot-home. ELIANA ADLER Eliana Adler’ s winning photo Arts&Life photography A Jewish Lens Local teen among winners in Israeli photo contest. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER O ne film about Holocaust survivors was not enough for director Jon Kean. After making Swimming in Auschwitz, which is about spiritual resistance, he moved on to After Auschwitz, which is about personal perseverance that allowed people to transcend the atrocities and move onto fulfilling lives. Six women appear in both films as their stories represent the inner strength held by so many who succeeded in America. Told in their own words and punctuated with archi- val footage, After Auschwitz will be broadcast Monday, April 20, on PBS in commemora- tion of Holocaust Remembrance Day. “Finding a way to tell 70 years of life through six women (420 years of living) in an 80-minute film was a daunting task,” said Kean, whose wife is president/CEO of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. “I did three complete edits of After Auschwitz only to throw them away before finding a path. In 2014, I did additional interviews with the three women who were still with us (and still are today), and this led to the final version of the film.” The filmmaker, who became preoccupied with the subject while hearing an Auschwitz survivor speak at his Hebrew school, draws deep emotional viewer responses through documentary footage. He shows the camp dead and the emaciated foraging for food as they walk or grab onto trains returning them to decimated home- towns. “It was an upside-down world,” said sur- vivor Erika (Engel) Jakoby, narrating her plight. “We tried to stay strong.” While the film brings out how the women married and grew new families, it also reveals how they established careers. Renee (Weinfeld) Firestone, born in the former Czechoslovakia, became a notable fashion designer with clothing in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Jacoby, born in Hungary, married a resis- tance fighter and became a social worker counseling survivors. Devoted to educating people about the Holocaust, the women took different approaches. Firestone, one of the first women to speak at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in California, travels the world to describe her experiences. Lili (Nutkowicz) Majzner, born in Poland, wrote about her experiences for magazines and books. The film aired at festivals and private screenings in 2017, launched theatrically in 40 cities during 2018, had digital and online purchases in 2019 and begins TV broadcasts this year. “[Survivor] stories are just too powerful to walk away from,” Dean said. After Auschwitz Stories of the perseverance of survivors who ended up succeeding in America. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER details After Auschwitz will be shown at 10 p.m. Monday, April 20, on PBS. fi lm