‘Here to Tell’ concludes its run in Edmonton

By Regan Lipes

(AJNews) – In Edmonton, on January 27, community members, friends, allies and local dignitaries gathered at the Art Gallery of Alberta for a somber program to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day and mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army’s liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The Jewish Federation of Edmonton hosted a special evening of remembrance that included a brief program and an opportunity to view the Here to Tell: Faces of Holocaust Survivors exhibition which was on display until February 9.

Dr. Francie Cyngiser, daughter of survivors Bronia and Sidney Cyngiser of blessed memory, gave an emotional description of the history and meaning of the exhibit – which was the brainchild of Dahlia Libin and Marnie Bondar – co-chairs of the Holocaust and Human Rights: Remembrance and Education department of the Calgary Jewish Federation and each the granddaughter of four Holocaust survivors. They were responsible for bringing the exhibit to Edmonton with the help of several generous donors. The original Here to Tell exhibit was first shown at the Glenbow at the Edison in Calgary in May 2022, attracting more than 10,000 visitors. A curated second exhibit at the Calgary Public Library in January 2023 was seen by 90,000 people.

The ‘Here to Tell’ exhibit is aimed at preserving the testimonies of Holocaust survivors with connections to Alberta. At AGA, it was comprised of 50 evocative portraits of survivors, photographed in the hands of their descendants holding the image of their family member. The striking photos which capture a world of lived experience, were taken by Calgary-based photographer Marnie Jazwicki (formerly Burkhart) – the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Each photo was accompanied by a brief biography about each survivor, that was thoughtfully written by lead writer and senior Here to Tell editor Maxine Fischbein.

The displayed photos of the survivors with their decedents emphasizes the chronological proximity of the Holocaust to present day.

From January 27 to February 9, Dr. Francie Cyngiser, gave presentations to several different groups, each with varying levels of understanding about the Holocaust. Attendees at the Holocaust Memorial Day program on Jan. 27 were all people with a nuanced knowledge of the Holocaust and its legacy. This tone stood in vivid contrast to the atmosphere of the exhibition on the morning of February 5 when a group of twenty-two eleventh grade students came to visit the same exhibition. The brilliance of the ‘Here to Tell’ photo exhibition and accompanying documentary is that it engaged such diverse audiences: those attending with prior knowledge, and Gen-Z learners who are statistically proven to be less informed about this not-so-distant global tragedy.

Francie greeted the group of EPSB students and introduced herself and her connection to the exhibition. “In the next room, you will see portraits of both my parents,” she began. “They were both still with us when ‘Here to Tell’ was being put together.  You can read a bit about their stories,” Francie continued with audible emotion. “You’ll notice that the biographies for each of the survivors pictured gives information about how they lived before the war, and after. This was done to give you a fuller picture of their lives.”

Accompanied by their social studies teacher, the students had not yet begun their unit on the Second World War but with the exhibition scheduled to close on February 9, time was of the essence.  “We are still studying the inter-war period,” explained their teacher when Francie informally asked students how many of them felt they were familiar with the Holocaust. A few teens sheepishly raised non-committal hands, as others tried not to make eye-contact.  Francie proceeded to give a bit of information about her parents, but also about herself and what it meant to be the child of survivors.  The group became visibly more engaged when Francie told them about an experience she had earlier in the week: “I was speaking to a group of students here at the gallery, and one young lady shared with me that her father is a Holocaust denier.”  This heavy dose of reality was enough to wake up even the sleepiest teenager. “There was a teacher in rural Alberta in the 80s who taught his students that the Holocaust never happened. These people are out there, and it isn’t just about those who deny the history altogether, but those who distort the facts about what happened”

Following the presentation, the students and their teacher filed into a small screening area where the ‘Here to Tell’ documentary was played for them.

Indeed the film, which brought to life the voices of the survivors’ pictures on the walls, was moving and meaningful from beginning to end: with memories from before the Shoah, testimonies of atrocities that took place during the Holocaust, and gripping accounts of hearing the UN vote to recognize the Jewish Homeland. Those within the Alberta Jewish community could also recognize the faces and voices of generational survivors remembering their passed loved ones: emphasizing that there must always remain someone here to tell.

Typically, one might expect students on a class trip to fidget with phones or whisper to their friends during an educational documentary, but all twenty-two sets of eyes were focused and attentive with sincerity and respect.  After, their teacher encouraged them to tour the gallery at their own pace, and Francie invited anybody with questions to come approach her – some took her up on this. The youths shuffled from portrait to portrait and intently examined the faces of those staring back at them. It was clear that biographical texts were being read and digested thoughtfully.  Some students mopped at their eyes with shirtsleeves, and others took cellphone pictures of text to be reflected upon later.

The content and testimonies visibly resonated with the group of Gen-Z learners.  Some may have known about the Holocaust from films or books previously, others may have not known much at all, but following the film and their own exploration of the exhibition everyone appeared to have connected impactfully with the memories being transmitted. As Kit Ramgopal of NBC noted in 2020, that 63% of American students surveyed “did not know 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Over half of those thought the toll was under 2 million.” In 2021, a survey conducted by Liberation75 and Western University assessed the Holocaust knowledge of 3,593 teenagers across Canada and the United States. The findings revealed that one in three students believed the Holocaust was fabricated or exaggerated or were unsure if it occurred.

This illustrates with horrifying clarity exactly what Francie Cyngiser explained to the group: that at one time the main concern that society battled was Holocaust denial, but there is now the need to additionally combat the misinformation of those who distort the history as well. Holocaust education must address denial on one front, and distortion on the other.  ‘Here to Tell’ did its part to ensure that these twenty-two young Edmontonians and many others would not be part of a statistical majority that illustrate a generational lack of accurate information.

Survivors or descendants who wish to become part of Here to Tell are encouraged to contact Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin at holocaustedu@jewishcalgary.org. “We had another 25 submissions given to us while we were in Edmonton!” says Marnie Bondar.

Curated, produced and directed by Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin, Holocaust and Human Rights: Remembrance and Education department of the Calgary Jewish Federation, the Here to Tell exhibit at the Alberta Art Gallery was supported by Dr. Frances Cyngiser and family in loving memory of Dr. Sidney and Bronia Cyngiser, Nora and Lawrence Lyman in loving memory of Isadore & Florence Burstyn, Elizabeth Regan and Robert Abells, Dr. Eric Schloss and Elexis Schloss z”l, Barry Zalmanowitz and June Ross. For more information visit www.heretotell.com.

Regan Lipes is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter