Every weekday this
spring, yellow school buses rolled to a stop in the
traffic circle near Memorial Chapel. Out of the buses
poured groups of boisterous children, happy to be on a
field trip and away from school for the morning.
The students and their teachers then
took the short walk to the Nott Memorial, where they
entered a world far-removed from what they experience
every day. Here, in the silence of that vast hall, they
saw two powerful exhibits — “French Children of the
Holocaust: A Memorial Exhibition” and “Of Light
Amidst the Darkness: The Danish Rescue.”
Within moments, the boisterous children
became quiet spectators. Gazing at the photographs of
French children killed by Nazis and listening as
survivors talked about the horrors of that far-away
world, they were solemn and silent.
Seldom has the College had an exhibit
as powerful as this one. And seldom has Memorial Chapel
been as packed as it was on March 15, when we honored
Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, whose efforts to track down
Nazis has brought long-hidden (and protected) war
criminals like Klaus Barbie to justice. Joined by faculty
and staff members, hundreds and hundreds of Union
students listened to the riveting story of these heroes
(an evening shared by thousands more in late April, when
an hour-long program about the evening was broadcast on
PBS stations throughout New York).
That their story touched people is
shown in the comments left by visitors of all ages:
“May the souls of all these
children be at peace and may humanity never forget nor
forgive such atrocities.”
“This should be seen by all
anti-Semites that still exist and dare to say there never
was a Holocaust.”
“I felt the exibit was realy
educational and i learned stuff i never knew.” (sic)
“The exhibit is painfully
beautiful.”
“Hitler is in hell.”
“You have put a face on the
Holocaust. A very powerful message.”
“No name — I'm ashamed —
devastated — and heartbroken to read and see this
exhibit. In 1940 I was 20 years old — an adult too
focused on my own life to know what was going on around
me. I hope today's youth are better educated.”
For me, the evening with the Klarsfelds
and the exhibits were particularly powerful and very,
very personal. Since my roots trace back to Nazi Germany
— with a grandfather who was an early leader against
Hitler, grandparents who were interned in Gurs and
Bourg-Lastic, and twelve relatives who died in camps — I
know that I need no reminder of that black period. Yet I
know that others do, and I feel that the Klarsfelds and
the exhibits conveyed much passion and history that put
faces to names and names to faces.
Those of us who work at Union know that
much of the learning that occurs here goes on outside the
classroom — in a conversation between a student and a
faculty member, for example, or when small groups of
students sit together in the library and collaborate on a
project. Our two exhibits proved to be extraordinary
learning experiences for thousands of area youngsters
(and adults), and we are proud that we were able to work
with the Holocaust Survivors and Friends Education Center
to bring these Holocaust reminders to our campus.
Roger H. Hull