Duquesne University is hosting a free, public exhibit of powerful letters and images and a special presentation by a noted local archivist to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Designated Jan. 27 by the United Nations General Assembly, the date marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest and most infamous camp of the Holocaust.
The exhibit, Who is a Jew? Amiens, France 1940-1945, was curated by distinguished Pittsburgh scholar Dr. David Rosenberg. The compelling exhibit preserves the haunting yet humanizing photos, letters and events of the Holocaust-in particular, the experiences and voices of the Jewish citizens of Amiens-and honors the six million Jewish victims and millions of other victims of Nazism during World War II.
Who is a Jew? Amiens, France 1940-1945, located on the fourth floor of Gumberg Library at Duquesne University, runs through Friday, Feb. 4.
"This exhibit provides us with an opportunity to remember these people in a way that brings out their lives and not just the horrible manner of their death," Dr. Rosenberg said. "It forces people to inescapably confront their humanity. Before you're labeled anything or come to accept your identity, you're a human being, that's the underlying reality."
In addition to the exhibit, a free online interfaith commemoration and presentation co-sponsored by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will be held Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 6:30 p.m., featuring the Director of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh Dr. Lauren Apter Bairnsfather, Tree of Life Rabbi Hazzan Jeffery Myers and the Rev. Bill Christy, C.S.Sp, Duquesne University chaplain and director of Spiritan campus ministry, and a representative from the Duquesne Hillel Jewish Organization.
During the event, Rosenberg will present The Making of 'Who is a Jew?': A Tale of Two Cities and the Challenges of Bringing a Troubling Holocaust History Home.
Both the exhibition and presentation are free and open to the public. For more information and to register for the online presentation, visit the exhibition website at duq.edu/IHRD.
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