Holocaust Exhibit at the Mechanicville Library

Public Reception: Monday, November 6, 2023 at 6pm - 8pm. The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was a systematic and state-sponsored genocide that occurred during World War II, primarily between 1941 and 1945. It was carried out by Nazi Germany and its collaborators, resulting in the persecution and mass murder of approximately six million European Jews, as well as millions of other individuals, including Romani people, disabled individuals, Poles, Slavs, political dissidents, homosexuals, and others who were considered “undesirable” by the Nazi regime. “We could never believe that a thing like this could happen. But it did happen. . . . That’s why it’s very important to tell people and hopefully it will not repeat itself. This is my husband’s dream and mine.” —Anna Jacobs, Holocaust survivor The Mechanicville District Public Library presents a traveling exhibit, “Messages From Survivors: One Family’s Holocaust Legacy.” The exhibit is built on 40 years of filming a family of Holocaust survivors in the Bronx, Miami and a bungalow colony in the Catskills between 1962 and 2016. In the exhibit, six short videos introduce the Holocaust through powerful personal stories of a family of Holocaust survivors. Six exhibit panels researched using the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s resources provide historical context for the video footage. The exhibit covers the family’s experiences from 1938 through the 21st century. A feature of the exhibit is the use of QR codes to bring the Holocaust survivors’ voices directly into people’s lives, both onsite and at home. Take-home cards keep the story alive once visitors return home. Each card contains stories of family members–some who survived and some who didn’t along with QR code links to the videos. “I want people to feel as if they are personally meeting my family. My parents met at a forced labor camp. My mother’s entire immediate family was murdered and my father lost most of his family. My mother said, “No one could believe things could get so bad. But they did.” Their message to the world was, “Don’t let it happen again. No place. In no country.” We hope this exhibit will inspire every community to address even the smallest incidents of hatred, injustice and cruelty. —Roz Jacobs, Co-Creator of Messages from Survivors Exhibit co-creator, Laurie Weisman adds, “The Jacobs family show us that resilience and joy can co-exist with loss and pain. By sharing their stories, we share their hard-earned wisdom with the world.” Working in partnership with Southern Adirondack Library System and The Memory Project Productions, Inc., we bring Messages From Survivors to the Mechanicville District Public Library during the month of November.

Event Links

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2049407-0

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