RAPID CITY, S.D. (Press Release) – The South Dakota National Guard will host Transfer of Memory, a photo exhibition of Holocaust survivors living in Minnesota, from Sept. 9-27 on Camp Rapid.
The exhibit will be open to the public for viewing Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Joint Force Headquarters on Camp Rapid (2823 W. Main Street, Rapid City).
A public program will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m. to highlight the exhibit, which shares stories of survival during exceedingly difficult circumstances, and will include a remembrance tribute honoring the victims and survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The program will feature speakers Steve Hunegs, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, and Col. Laurence Bazer, a Jewish chaplain with the National Guard Bureau, who will talk of his experiences ministering to the victims and first responders in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Each Holocaust survivor in Transfer of Memory shares a story of survival, yet as a collection, these images focus on life and hope. From Europe to Minnesota, it was here they fashioned their dreams, their futures, and their families – their lives are a constant reminder of the value of freedom and the enduring human spirit. Photographer David Sherman and writer Lili Chester, in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, created the photography exhibition.
“This exhibition has enabled the JCRC’s Holocaust education program to bring lessons of the Shoah (Holocaust) to communities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin who otherwise might not receive firsthand accounts from Holocaust survivors,” said Steve Hunegs, JCRC executive director.
“Transfer of Memory reminds us all of a memory that must never be forgotten – that there was a time in history where people were exterminated solely on the basis of their ethnic or religious convictions,” said Col. Lynn Wilson, South Dakota National Guard state chaplain. “But the Transfer of Memory reminds us of a second memory as important – that no pit is so deep that God is not deeper still. No horror can break the resilient spirit that knows there is always hope no matter how bad things may currently be.”
The exhibition features 45 portraits of survivors living – or who lived – in Minnesota. There are 53 total Holocaust survivors photographed in the exhibit, and sadly, 23 of the survivors have passed away. The color images depict the survivors as living full and fulfilled lives – full of life and vitality – not defined by victimhood.
Each survivor was photographed in their home and everyone was interviewed and videotaped prior to making their portrait. Text, distilled from the survivor interviews, accompanies each portrait and provides background and a short history in the survivors’ own words.
This exhibition is curated by JCRC staff members, Laura Zelle and Susie Greenberg, and is a
collaboration between David Sherman, Lili Chester, and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
For more information about the exhibition, please visit http://transferofmemory.org/. Follow
@TransferMemory on Twitter, @TransferofMemory on Instagram, and @TransferofMemory on
Facebook.