Shoes of memory: Holocaust remembrance exhibition takes centre stage at Westminster

A moving exhibition featuring replicas of shoes belonging to victims of the Nazi Holocaust has taken centre stage in the main meeting hall at Westminster, where politicians, staff, and visitors alike are confronted with a powerful reminder of history.

Ceramicist Jenny Stolzenberg began the “In Their Footsteps” exhibition after the death of her Jewish father, Bill Powell, in 1990.

Stolzenberg noted that her father, who arrived in the UK as Wilhelm Pollak—a refugee from Vienna who had been imprisoned in Buchenwald—rarely spoke about his experiences.

Driven to understand his silence, she created ceramic footwear in his memory, seeking to spark the conversations they never had.

Following Stolzenberg’s death in 2016, the Learning from the Righteous charity became the custodian of her project.

The charity, which uses stories of Holocaust rescue to broaden children’s knowledge and inspire good deeds, adopted the idea of recreating victims’ shoes to engage pupils in classrooms across the UK.

Now, on the encouragement of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, “In Their Footsteps” is displayed in its full glory at the heart of Portcullis House, Westminster.

At a parliamentary reception last week, Justine Minister and Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman was joined by Learning from the Righteous CEO Anthony Lishak, schoolchildren from Trinity Catholic School in Leamington Spa, and other guests.

Together, they paid tribute to the exhibition’s impact and celebrated its prominent placement in one of the nation’s most iconic locations.

Sackman told guests, “Something remarkable has happened in this place over the last few days. Amidst the usual hubbub and chatter, I’ve noticed a stillness. As people walk past the ‘In Their Footsteps’ exhibition, they suddenly stop to pause for thought. They stop dead in their tracks, confronted by something very poignant, very moving, and very resonant.”

She continued, “The shoes highlight the individuality of the Shoah. Confronting the statistics and the sheer horror of what took place is daunting. But when you bring it back to something as simple as a shoe, it personalises it—somehow making it more real. Each of those lives, represented in those shoes, is a terrible loss, but also a lesson to us.”

Addressing the ongoing relevance of Holocaust education, Sackman added: “The rise in antisemitism, around the world and in this country, is a stark reminder that the work of Holocaust educators is far from finished.

“We can never take progress for granted; whilst antisemitism might morph or manifest itself in different guises, it never really went away. The responsibility lies with all of us to educate and stand up against hate.”

Anthony Lishak, CEO of Learning from the Righteous, commented: “We are honoured to bring our ‘In Their Footsteps’ exhibition into the heart of Parliament.

“Shoes provide a visceral point of connection to a subject that is far too vast to fully comprehend.

“The abandoned shoes at the heart of the display, that silently scream of stolen dreams, have the power to instantly stop people in their tracks.

“Since we’ve been here, they have sparked many conversations with Members of Parliament, who are keen to bring the exhibition into their communities so that local students can experience its impact. They are particularly impressed by the ‘shoes of memory’ that other students have created in response to the exhibition.”

As part of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations, the Learning from the Righteous charity, together with the Association of Jewish Refugees, will host a concert at Wigmore Hall next Thursday.

“Voices of Justice” marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Nuremberg Trials and the 65th anniversary of the Eichmann trial, using the words of eyewitnesses whose testimony gave voice to victims.

The event will be narrated by BBC correspondent Tim Franks and feature students from JFS School.