They are called “Nazi hunters” for bringing Klaus Barbie and others to justice — and for their major role in the trial now making headlines in France of a former cabinet minister.
But Serge and Beate Klarsfeld have devoted themselves not just to catching the perpetrators of Nazi terror but to remembering their victims. Thus, Serge
Klarsfeld's recent 1,800-page book, French Children of the Holocaust, is
devoted to children sent from France to the death camps, a book “born of my obsession
that these children will not be forgotten,” the author said. It contains 2,500 photos
of the children.
The Klarsfelds will visit campus on March 15 to open a series of events
aimed at teaching the lessons of the Holocaust to a new generation. They are to receive
honorary degrees from Union in a special convocation at 8:15 p.m. in Memorial Chapel. They
also will hold a conversation with the audience about their work.
Many of the powerful photos from Serge Klarsfeld's book will be
featured in a Nott Memorial exhibit, which the Klarsfelds will open on March 15.
“This book is not about history. It is about memory,” wrote
the reviewer of French Children of the Holocaust in the Jan. 19 New Republic. Klarsfeld
“has produced something more humble than history, and yet more painstakingly
researched, and more devastating. The photographs of 2,500 murdered children are
reproduced in this volume … It took Klarsfeld more than 20 years to find names for
children who died nameless, and to put faces to names that were nothing more than
names.”
Lessons for Humanity at Union runs through April 23, ending with
a Day of Remembrance.
Also featured will be a photo exhibit titled Of Light Amidst the
Darkness — The Danish Rescue, which features photographs by Judith Ellis
Glickman, who in 1988 traveled and photographed in Warsaw, Krakow, Auschwitz, and
Birkenau, where millions of Jews were exterminated. In 1992 the Thanks to Scandinavia
Foundation commissioned her to photograph Danish resistance leaders, rescuers, survivors,
and sites relating to the Resistance.
Specially trained docents will lead exhibit tours and discussions for
local students and members of local organizations. A study guide will be available to help
teachers and students continue the discussion in their classrooms.
Lessons for Humanity is presented by Union College and the
Holocaust Survivors and Friends Education Center. Major support is provided by an
anonymous donor from the Union family.