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Exhibition platforming Holocaust rescue stories opens at Chipping Barnet Library
Tales of Kindertransport refugees and valuables smuggled across borders: Between Life and Death runs until 14 December
Chipping Barnet Library is hosting an international travelling exhibition paying tribute to those who, during the Second World War, chose to help persecuted Jews in the face of the threat of imprisonment, deportation or death.
Available to view from 2 November to 14 December, ‘Between Life and Death: Stories of Rescue during the Holocaust, is presented by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS) and Barnet Council and brings together the stories of rescuers and survivors from fifteen European countries.
Amongst the many stories are those of Eva Paddock (née Fleischmannová) and sister Milena, who arrived in Britain from Czechoslovakia on a Kindertransport organised by Sir Nicholas Winton, and sisters Ida and Louise Cook.
Opera enthusiasts from London, the Cook sisters secretly smuggled Jewish refugees’ valuables across borders and later assisted them in rebuilding their lives in Britain. They were recognised as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1964.
Project co-ordinator Agnieszka Mazur-Olczak said the exhibition “feels remarkably contemporary despite focusing on historical events. It reveals both the light and the dark sides of humanity through stories of people who found themselves in extreme situations – those struggling to save their own lives and those who chose to risk everything to help others.”
She adds: “What is most important to me is that, wherever the exhibition travels, people tell us that although recounting difficult wartime experiences, it ultimately leaves them with a sense of hope.”
Cllr Anne Clarke, Barnet Council Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Arts and Sports, said: “These stories of rescue and survival encourage us to reflect on the importance of standing up to hatred and prejudice, and I encourage residents and visitors to take the opportunity to visit and learn from them.”
‘Between Life and Death’ is a joint initiative of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and the Silent Heroes Memorial Centre in Berlin.
The exhibition was first presented at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels in January 2018 to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Since then, it has travelled to more than twenty cities across Europe, as well as Japan and the United States. Earlier this year, it was presented at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
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