“STORIES FROM THE HOLOCAUST”: LOCAL HISTORIES THROUGH GRAPHIC NOVELS
EHRI partner, the "Elie Wiesel" National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania, organizes an innovative educational and remembrance project, encouraging young generations and general audiences to discover the histories of the communities they are living in.
EHRI
Six different outdoor graphic novel exhibitions, created by the research team of the "Elie Wiesel” Institute, in partnership with high-school students from the cities that host the exhibitions, present the (hi)stories of Jews and Roma who lived in those regions more than eight decades ago.
By Roxana Popa, The "Elie Wiesel" National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust In Romania
"Stories from the Holocaust. Local histories" is a project that frames Holocaust memory in Romania by emphasizing local specificities and boosting local awareness. The programme encourages awareness that the Holocaust is not a story of a distant place but has regional specificity as both the victims and the perpetrators walked the streets of the cities that host the exhibition. Consequently, their story pertains to local history and needs to be acknowledged as such. Taken to a local level, remembrance becomes an active process, and it creates a sense of common belonging with the victims, which nurtures empathy and solidarity.
Another aspect of the project is that it offers tools that highlight the diversity of Holocaust victims and the multiple ways discrimination and extermination were perpetrated under Romanian authority. Therefore, the illustration’s topics cover the Holocaust period in a local frame, and present categories of victims (Jews and Roma), and categories of events (forced labor, deportation to Transnistria, pogroms, curfew rules, confiscation of property, local camps).
The role and link between education and Holocaust remembrance in Romania
Securing a democratic society, where solidarity, diversity, and multicultural dialogue are primary values, lies in being aware of the past and knowing the history of the community we are living in. Keeping the memory alive plays a significant role here, and enhancing remembrance can be made through the provision of accurate information and formal and informal education on various levels.
In Romania of today, the Holocaust under Romanian authority is still underrated. National surveys conducted by the "Elie Wiesel" Institute show that a significant part of the respondents (65%) still externalize the Holocaust perpetrated under Romanian authority toward Germany as the main responsible of the Holocaust in Romania. This could be explained by several causes: the silence that surrounded the topic during the communist period or the multiple facets of the Holocaust in Romania. This proves the need for constant information, and Holocaust education, focusing on local specificities.
Being an active promoter of Holocaust remembrance and constantly investing in Holocaust education, the "Elie Wiesel" Institute responds to these needs by developing projects such as the graphic novel exhibition. The project brings together the local story of the Holocaust with the racist and xenophobic stance exhibited by the Romanian authorities of the time.
By doing so the exhibitions emphasize the dangers that prejudice, dehumanization, and intolerance have for fueling crimes against humanity. This way, the targeted groups are encouraged to become more sensitive to the risks posed by social stereotyping and exclusion; the project linking the past with problems that are still present within contemporary Romanian society.
How does it work?
The process starts with interactive workshops with the students and educators where the history of the Holocaust in Romania and local specificities are presented. It follows the documentation of the microhistories of the individuals and communities in the six regions (Bacau, Suceava, Galati, Vrancea, Dolj, Argeș) using primary sources and creating the storylines of the exhibitions that are ultimately illustrated by professional artists.
Therefore, the students and educators are not simply spectators, but become content creators, and their work is publicly acknowledged. This user-generated content strategy stimulates engagement, curiosity and a better understanding of the subject.
The format chosen (graphic novel) also responds to the needs, and interests of the targeted audiences, and the open outdoor character of the exhibitions facilitates the general public's access.
More about the project
"Stories from the Holocaust. Local histories” is a project developed within the "Local History” programme, financed by the EVZ Foundation, organized with the support of the local authorities, and in collaboration with educators and students from various cities in Romania. The project started in the autumn of 2021 with two exhibitions in Bacău and Suceava presenting the stories of local Jewish communities and the deportation to Transnistria.
Recently, on April 8 and April 9, two more exhibitions were inaugurated, and by the end of the year, the last will follow.
The exhibitions are also accessible online.