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Auschwitz Through the Lens of the SS
by Molly McCall
Thu, September 20, 2007, 3:00 am PDT

In 1944, a German SS officer named Karl Höcker was stationed at Auschwitz as an adjutant to the camp's commandant. During the time he was there, the Nazi official kept a scrapbook. But this isn't like any Auschwitz documentation you've seen before. In these images, Höcker and other camp leadership and staff relax at a wooded retreat, hold sing-alongs, and smoke cigars. Josef Mengele, the camp's monstrous doctor, smiles and socializes. SS auxiliary women lounge on deck chairs, snack on berries, and get caught in a rain storm. Höcker lights a Christmas tree.

In January of this year, these rare, unnerving photographs were donated to the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Now, the museum has made them available online, along with background on Höcker and a moving comparison with the "Auschwitz album," the one other known photographic collection from the camp. The contrast between the two is terrifying, and unforgettable.

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Filed under: The Holocaust, World War II, Historic Photos

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Life After the Holocaust
Wed, July 26, 2006, 3:00 am PDT

In the seven years after World War II ended, an estimated 80,000 Holocaust survivors fled Europe for the shores of New York. Now, in brief and extended audio clips, six of those survivors tell what it was like to begin life anew on the other side of the ocean. The survivors—five from Poland, one from Czechoslovakia—speak candidly about feeling angry with God, raising American children who didn't want to hear of the past's horrors, and coping with the constant presence of those who were lost. Curated by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the exhibit is beautifully designed and intricate. But the character and timber of each speaker's voice are what makes the site such a moving tribute to the "vital role of remembrance" in all of our lives.
Visit Life After the Holocaust

Filed under: U.S. History, The Holocaust, Oral History

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Committee on Conscience
by Molly McCall
Tue, April 04, 2006, 3:00 am PDT

In 1993, the United States Holocaust Museum opened its doors. Soon after, the museum formed the Committee on Conscience, a group that tracks the threat of genocide in the world today and "seeks to amplify the voice of conscience." And amplify it does. Within the wealth of content on their site, you'll find news about areas of concern, analysis related to the prevention and punishment of genocide, photo galleries, and podcasts from such humanitarians as New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel. Specific subsections lead you further into such areas as Darfur, Chechnya, and Rwanda, places all too familiar with human cruelty. The Darfur section includes a response to the question that creeps up in all of us when faced with these horrors: What can I do?
Visit Committee on Conscience

Filed under: Crime, Human Rights, The Holocaust, Yahoo! Picks for Good

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Silent Witness: The Story of Lola Rein and Her Dress
Mon, May 09, 2005, 3:00 am PDT

Fleeing the Nazis in 1943, a young Polish girl named Lola Rein hid in a hole beneath a barn with three people she'd never met before. She would stay there for seven months, wearing her only possession -- a thin, white frock embroidered by her mother. In this site from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, we follow the tale of Lola's parents, the women who hid Lola, and Lola's eventual liberation. And we see her dress. A clickable image offers close inspection of the garment's colorful needlework -- it looks so heartbreakingly fragile. We also meet Lola herself who, in two video clips, recounts aspects of her harrowing ordeal. This is a lush, sorrowful site -- and an in-depth glimpse at one of the thousands of objects in the Holocaust Museum's collection.
Visit Silent Witness: The Story of Lola Rein and Her Dress

Filed under: The Holocaust

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Open Hearts Closed Doors: The War Orphans Project
Sun, September 12, 2004, 3:00 am PDT

World War II left scars on the land and on the minds and bodies of its many victims. Families were torn apart, towns were destroyed, and countless children lost their parents. Open Hearts, Closed Doors details the experiences of a group of Jewish orphans who immigrated to Canada following the war's conclusion. Their firsthand accounts are both heartbreaking and fascinating, while the stories of Canada's Jewish community's efforts to help are inspirational. In all, 1,123 orphans crossed the Atlantic to begin anew. In picture and word, this site covers their remarkable journey -- from the pre-war persecution so many faced, to their fresh starts with new families, and finally to their adulthood. With so many of today's children in need of adoption, consider these stories "a warning against human indifference."
Visit Open Hearts Closed Doors: The War Orphans Project

Filed under: Canada, The Holocaust, Oral History, Judaism

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