Introduction

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Beyond the basic need to testify, the desire to tell the stories of the Holocaust comes from a need to educate, to teach future generations about hatred, indifference and intolerance towards the other and what it can lead to. Sadly, the generation that experienced the Holocaust first-hand is disappearing. A day will come when we will have to change our educational approach to the Holocaust. This day is fast approaching.

October 2023 remarks the 80th anniversary of the Danish rescue operation to Sweden during the Holocaust, in which Danish Jews were smuggled, under the noses of the Nazis, in fishing boats to neutral Sweden. Although a small portion was caught by the Germans, 99% of Danish Jews survived the Holocaust. This served as the inspiration for this international collaboration between Denmark and Israel aimed to document the personal stories of this event. Using photography as an instrument we wished to make history relevant for the present and the future by involving witnesses and documenting their stories, in a project that will make the generations talk together and to the future.

“A small light cannot overcome the immense darkness of the Holocaust in Europe, but it can somehow illuminate something and give hope that there are also good people.” Those words, spoken by Poul Melchior - one of the witnesses documented in this exhibition, describes our vision. The combination of the writers’ words and the photographers’ images, make it possible for the stories of the witnesses to be shared with the world at large and to enter the  hearts of the readers who will learn and draw inspiration from them. It was Bent Melchior, who best described the importance of conveying these messages: “I think the moral is that you have to listen to your conscience. If you feel that there is something to do, don't say: ׳Well, let others׳, but do it yourself. Make the difference.” Bent passed away in 2021, and with the consent of his family, his story is also included in this exhibition. 

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Many thanks to the witnesses, photographers and writers who took part and to all those who will continue to participate in the future.

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Sincerely yours,
Keren-Or Rosenbaum
Founder of “The Autographers”