Presence of Absence and the Absence of Presence

The concept of the presence of absence and the absence of presence has been touched upon numerous times throughout the course Memory and Reconciliation: The Churches and the Holocaust. When pertaining to the Shoah, often people are aware that this devastation of a community occurred, but the discussion on how to move forward is lacking.

Ghetto Heroes Square in Krakow

The above photo was taken in Ghetto Heroes Square in Krakow. The Square contains an installation of thirty-three cast iron and bronze chairs. This memorial was resurrected in memory of the Polish Jews of Krakow that were imprisoned and murdered in the Krakow ghetto and German death camps during World War II. The chairs signify both the presence and absence of life. A standard, household object, typically filled with a living being stands empty for the rest of time. The Shoah took the lives of so many, leaving an emptiness in their place.

I found this memorial especially moving due to its location. The chairs were scattered out in the center of a busy market square. It has been over seventy years since the end of World War II, yet hundreds of people will pass this memorial every day and think for even just a moment about the weight of the lives lost. I believe this acknowledgement is an important factor in the recognition and prevention of such a tragedy never happening again.

Imagery seen such as Ghetto Heroes Square opens up an opportunity for dialogue on the topic. In a world where many may believe that since the Shoah ended, the time for discussion is over, memorials such as these go against this notion. To feel the presence of the absence of a community means that there are still emotions to be felt and words to be said on the subject. So, the absence of the presence of conversation is detrimental to the healing process.

In Poland, I had the privilege of meeting Fr. Manfred and listening to him lecture on different aspects of the Shoah. At the start of one of his lectures, he said “you cannot sit here and say you are for peace and do nothing” (Fr. Manfred, Center for Dialogue and Prayer). I believe this message should be shared in any situation where there are injustices occurring. It is so important to not become the bystander. Part of not being the bystander includes continuing the stream of dialogue. In order to end the absence of conversation, it is our responsibility to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves or join them in solidarity.

Fr. Manfred also taught us that “we need to trust one another, which is difficult when history proves otherwise. It can only happen through conversation” (Fr. Manfred, Center for Dialogue and Prayer). This statement reiterates the significance of the introduction and continuation of communication. History has revealed that silence only strengthens adversities, so only through trust, acknowledgement, and reflection can reconciliation begin.

The presence of absence and absence of presence indicates a broken cycle in society. The memorial of chairs in Ghetto Heroes Square is a step to heal that brokenness through acknowledgement of the lives lost in the Shoah. The installation and Fr. Manfred’s words taught me the importance of having a voice, and using its power to advocate.

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Traumatic Impact of the Holocaust on Adolescent Behavior

The following blog references Alexander Donat’s memoir, The Holocaust Kingdom, the 1999 edition, originally written in 1963.

Replication of a Child’s Drawing of KL Birkenau (Auschwitz II).

When visiting the Auschwitz I Museum, I took interest in a room filled with children’s drawings from the war years. The room was part of the Shoah exhibit in Block 27. The above drawing displays the railroad tracks leading into the entrance of Auschwitz II. The exhibit contained dozens of reproduced drawings found in concentration camps, orphanages, and hiding places. Although many sketches revealed the ordinary imaginations of youth such as family, animals, and flowers, a large portion revealed a child’s experience of life in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Children commonly reflect their surroundings and experiences of their world, yet looking back on this piece of history through the eyes of a child is particularly jarring. This insight into a child’s mind is also seen in The Holocaust Kingdom through Alexander Donat’s (Michael Berg) son William (Wlodek). Donat would come home from work in the ghetto to Wlodek playing make-believe games with another child. He recalls his “son was screaming, 'Juden raus! Allen Juden runter!' They were playing the resettlement game” (Donat 90). These harsh German words translating to ‘Jews out! All Jews down!’ were being shouted from the mouth of a four-and-a-half-year-old Jewish boy. Without a full comprehension of the world around him, the impressionable child was left with the dangerous combination of the toxicity in these words and the imagination his age brings.

Replication of a Child’s Drawing of a Threatening Soldier.

The drawing shows a woman. trapped by trees, vulnerable to the will of a soldier with a weapon. This portrayal was a common occurrence to war time activity, potentially witnessed by the drawing’s artist. The violence seen in this image was clearly felt by the child as they later drew it. Similar to Wlodek’s make-believe game, the drawing served as an outlet for what the child experienced. The violence seen by Wlodek caused him to have inclinations towards pretending to act out the anger, even just for a game. Donat was concerned, as many parents would be, by the rise in violent behavior he saw in his child.

The subjects of these drawings and games, though distressing to any individual, could be especially traumatic to the vulnerable mind of a child. Without the proper development to process the events happening before one’s eyes, the innocence of the child is broken. Beyond the shift in childhood drawings and games, the child’s psyche becomes darker, angrier. Their innocence is taken, forcing them to comprehend the real world far too early.

What moved me about this exhibit was its initial simplicity and brightness. I walked into a room of four white walls filled only with pencil sketches. It is immediately obvious that these pictures were made by children, creating an almost lighthearted sensation as I remember the countless scribbles that represented my own childhood experience. Only upon a closer look did I realize the material that tormented these bright walls. My emotions changed in conjunction to my realization of the innocence of these poor child victims. Age does not create security from the Holocaust’s damaging impact. This truth was instilled in me as I mourned for the loss of these young lives over their own form of testimonials to the horrors endured by so many.

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Resistance through Documentation

Resistance to the Nazi regime is a recurring topic when speaking about World War II and the Shoah. The question of whether the Jewish people fought back has appeared several times throughout this course. The answer to this question is yes, the Jewish people resisted. They were not docile lambs led to slaughter. Jewish resistance is evident not only in the texts I’ve read, but also through Jewish people’s actions to their situation under the Nazi regime.

List of Prisoners Found in KL Auschwitz.

This list was found after the liberation of KL Auschwitz. It holds the names and numbers of seven prisoners, and serves as a reminder that they existed. As mentioned in The Holocaust Kingdom, existence in itself was resistance. The Nazis wanted to exterminate the entire Jewish population. By leaving their name behind, the Jewish people were fighting this goal.

There are many different types of resistance that are significant. Besides the obvious opposition through fighting with weapons, the is also forming groups, maintaining culture and religious practices, and the recording of the harsh experiences one suffered. Whether Jewish, another victimized group of people, or an ally, it was so important to preserve the atrocities occurred in the Holocaust.

Alexander Donat also practices this form of resistance in The Holocaust Kingdom. Donat felt a responsibility to survive not only for his family, but also to share all he endured. He kept a detailed account in his notebook of the events as they unfolded. His first-person accounts were crucial to the cultivation of his memoir.

Resistance though the preservation of information was also a prominent theme in The Portraitist. This documentary sheds light on the life of Wilhelm Brasse. A photographer by trade, Brasse was selected to photograph the prisoners in Auschwitz I when he was taken and sent there himself. His photos served as evidence for the sheer amount of people held in the camp as well as the cruel experiences taking place When the Nazis knew they would lose, they began to destroy all proof of the horrors conducted at their hands. Although ordered to destroy the photo documentation, Brasse ensured the preservation of all he had recorded through his camera’s eye. The Nazis could not succeed in covering up their injustices.

The Jewish people were in a threatening situation under the Nazi regime, making it difficult for a mass uprising to physically counterattack their oppressors. These men are three examples of many that found their own ways of resisting those persecuting them from their vulnerable positions. The documentation and preservation of the events that comprise the Shoah creates evidence of its horrors.

The list found of prisoners’ names and numbers instilled in me that not all resistance had to be obvious in order to be effective. This discrete form of fighting back maintained valuable evidence that later held the Nazis accountable. Accountability is vital in the reconciliation of a disastrous tragedy such as the Shoah, making the resistances seen by the prisoners, Donat, and Brasse a key factor in overthrowing the Nazi regime.

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