Alabama Holocaust Survivors Share Stories of Survival

Darkness into Life: Alabama Holocaust Survivors through Photography and Art
Central Library, 2100 Park Place
4th Floor Gallery during regular business hours
February 23-April 8
Free and open to the public

The Birmingham Holocaust Education Committee and the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) present Darkness into Life: Alabama Holocaust Survivors through Photography and Art. The collection will be on display at BPL beginning February 23 through April 8.

The photography of Becky Seitel and art of Mitzi J. Levin provide intimate glimpses into the memories of twenty Alabama Holocaust survivors. Seitel and Levin spent hours listening to each survivor’s stories, beginning with their lives before occupation and imprisonment, and continuing to their lives in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, and Opelika. Survivor biographies and maps accompany the paintings and photographs, providing an additional historical dimension to the exhibit. School and special group tours are encouraged to visit. Please contact Mia Rutledge at (205) 226-3604 for more information.

The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center will also host five talks and screen a film in March at the Birmingham Public Library. All six programs are in conjunction with the Darkness into Life gallery show. Each begins at noon and will be held in the Arrington Auditorium. All are free and open to the public.


Central Library
Wednesday, March 2 at noon in the Arrington Auditorium
In the Footsteps of the Holocaust
Ms. Ann Mollengarden, Education Coordinator for the Birmingham Holocaust Education Committee and the Alabama Holocaust Commission, will speak about her recent trip to Germany and Poland with the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, in which she traced the evolution of Nazism and its genocidal policies, and had the privilege of meeting over fifty rescuers.

Central Library
Wednesday, March 9 at noon in the Arrington Auditorium
A Reluctant Journey from Vienna to New York
Dr. Robert Adler will speak about the development of the Holocaust in Austria, focusing on his father's personal experience before, during, and after his capture by the Nazis as well as his eventual arrival in the United States. He will also speak about the role of the Catholic Church, and particularly the role of Pope Pius XII, in the rise of the Third Reich and the spread of Nazism in Europe, contrasted with the Pope and the Vatican's aid to Jews escaping the Holocaust.

Central Library
Wednesday, March 16 at noon in the Arrington Auditorium
New Themes on Anti-Semitism
Mr. Maury Shevin, attorney and member of the Alabama Holocaust Commission, will speak about anti-Semitism in both its historical and current forms. His presentation will discuss some of the more alarming forms, including the notion that Zionism is racism, and the way in which the president of Iran and other Holocaust deniers are welcomed into the fraternity of nations.

Central Library
Sunday, March 20 3:00 p.m. in the Arrington Auditorium
Children of the Holocaust
Nine Birmingham Holocaust survivors share their stories of despair, endurance, and survival in Nazi Germany, and their arrival in the United States. The stories are powerful and compelling, but the fact that these are narrated by the survivors themselves makes them a testament to the events of the time. This documentary makes use of original photographs and footage taken during the years of the Holocaust, creating a powerful historical record.

Central Library
Wednesday, March 23 at noon in the Arrington Auditorium
Survivors Stories: Anniston, Temple Beth El, and the Holocaust
Sherry Blanton, Guardian of Remembrance for the Birmingham Holocaust Education Committee, will discuss the congregation of Temple Beth-El in Anniston. Founded in 1888, sixteen of its members were Holocaust survivors. The program will chronicle their lives.

Central Library
Wednesday, March 30 at noon in the Arrington Auditorium
A Holocaust Survivor Speaks
Wednesday, March 30
Max Herzel, Holocaust survivor and member of the Birmingham Holocaust Education Committee and the Alabama Holocaust Commission, will discuss how he and his family escaped the German invasion of their home city of Antwerp, Belgium and sought refuge in France. Soon after their arrival, the Herzels, along with other Jews, were rounded up and faced harrowing experiences for five years.