November 13, 2007
By Lesego Madumo
A PHOTOGRAPHIC exhibition that focuses on the Holocaust memorials in Berlin, in Germany, is on at the Goethe-Institut in Parkwood, for four consecutive weeks.
Titled Absence and Loss, it is based on the work of award-winning fine art photographer Marion Davis. The Holocaust is the genocide of almost six million Jews during World War II, orchestrated by the Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler.
The exhibition runs until Friday, 30 November. It is tailored to show the effect that the Nazi party had on the lives of Europe's Jews, particularly those who lived in Germany. "The exhibition does not directly depict the horror of the Holocaust and the pain of its victims, rather the footprints they left on the landscape of Germany," says Kaja Kopkow, the events manager at the institute.
It comprises artworks and photographs of sculptures and plaques. Texts give insight into the history of the sites and places, all in Berlin.
There will be a discussion on Holocaust Memorials and Memory on 15 November at 7pm. Jocelyn Hellig, the national vice-chairperson of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies will be on the panel. Hellig will touch on Berlin's Holocaust memorials and on the new museum at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
Also on the panel will be Michael Wald, son of Herman Wald, the artist who designed the Holocaust Memorial in Joburg's West Park Cemetery. Wald will speak about the intentions his father had for the memorial and the message it conveys. Tali Nates, a well-known Holocaust educator, will speak about Holocaust memorials in Poland and Berlin and their message for future generations.
The documentary Two or Three Things I Know about Him will be flighted on 21 November at 7pm and its director, Malte Ludin, and producer, Iva Svarcovawill, will be present. It is based on the life of Hanns Ludin, a Nazi who was tried and executed as a war criminal in 1947. It "focuses on how his family refuses to engage with his wartime record", Kopkow explains.
Although the truth about his role in the war is well documented, Ludin junior argues that his family has been evasive about his Nazi past, which has remained undisclosed by the family since the war, which lasted from 1939 to 1945.
The second discussion will be held on 26 November at 7pm. The panel will include Anthony Court, from Unisa's Primedia holocaust and genocide department, and Cynthia Kros, an associate professor in the University of the Witwatersrand's history and graduate school, who will speak about South African memorials.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a massive cemetery-like memorial of Jews deported to concentration camps and murdered by the end of the Second World War
(Photo: Absence and Loss)
Wits lecturer Veronique Tadjo will speak about memorials in Rwanda.
The Goethe-Institut is open on Monday to Friday from 9am until 6pm; entrance is free. For further information contact Kaja Kopkow on 011 442 3232 or email her on programme@johannesburg.goethe.org.
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