STUMBLING STONES FROM THE PAST
On Friday, January 26, at 2:00 pm, in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the Jewish Federation of Dutchess County presented a film screening of HERE LIVED — the film by documentary filmmaker and activist Jane Wells.
The Holocaust will always stand as one of the most devastating and inhumane genocides in history. It targeted six million Jews, as well as millions of others, including Romani people, disabled individuals, people of color, homosexuals, Poles, and others considered unworthy by the Nazis. This dark chapter in human history serves as a reminder of the depths of human cruelty and the consequences of hatred and racism. It’s because of this specific reason that it’s imperative to remember the Holocaust to honor and respect the memories of the victims and to ensure that such horrific acts are never repeated.
The film HERE LIVED is a moving and impactful film about generational trauma. It tells the story of hidden children, murdered parents, and the stones that bring healing to the families that still remember. This film tells the story of the current Stolpersteine project, as racism, autocracy, and antisemitism are on the rise again. The film introduces the audience to the conceptual artist, Gunter Demnig and his Stolpersteine project, which consists of laying stolpersteine (translation: stumbling stones) into the pavement in front of the last voluntarily chosen residence of those murdered by the Nazis. These deeply personal concrete blocks that measure 10x10cm are crafted by Deming, topped with permanent brass plates, and are hand-stamped with the names and fates of victims. What makes HERE LIVED so unique is that it merges different storylines of family members, and by doing this, the viewer can later understand why Deming calls his art project “social sculpture.”
When asked, what inspired the decision to screen HERE LIVED for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Education Director of the Roosevelt Presidential Library and Head of the Para Lorentz Film Center, Jeffrey S. Urbin, explained that he believes it’s very important to take time on this day and remember what happened during the Holocaust. According to Urbin, what makes HERE LIVED a fantastic and interesting film is that it celebrates the people individually. He explained how many times when people think about the Holocaust, they think about six million people, and that’s a significant number.
“It’s a huge number, it’s a grisly number, and it’s a hard number to wrap your head around, so what I like myself personally about this movie is that it brings it down to individual people and we remember that that six million is moms and dads, sons and daughters, cousins, grandmas, friends–It humanizes that number,” said Urbin.
Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Douches County, Karen Hochhauser, explained that The Jewish Federation of Douches Country has a long-standing relationship with the FDR Presidential Library, and this screening is one of the many collaborative events they’ve hosted to support communities.
“We’ve done a number of different events, we’ve done educational seminars for teachers and educators because while the Holocaust may seem like a history for some, the lessons that we need to learn from yesterday to apply today are ever present, especially with the rise of antisemitism today, now more than ever,” said Hochhauser.
Among the 100 registered attendees were Barbara Kernes, age 70, and Dorothy Markus, age 80. They learned about film screening from The Jewish Federation’s monthly newspaper, The Voice. Kernes and Markus, best friends for over twenty years, shared their anticipation for the film’s exploration of various aspects of the Holocaust. When asked what they hoped the film would highlight, Kernes responded without hesitation, “everything,” while Markus nodded and added, “absolutely.”
Having retired from Marist College following a vocation at the post office, Kernes emphasized the significance of remembering this specific historical event, especially in the current rise in antisemitism that we are experiencing.
“I think that the more people understand the past, they will be able to make intelligent decisions on how they really feel about what’s happening today,” said Kernes.
When asked how he believes films like HERE LIVED contribute to education and remembrance in the community, Urbin expressed how such films help people understand this is what happened.
“We have to keep looking back, if you want to know where you’re going, you have to look at where you’ve been. This helps people to have an opportunity to remember what occurred,” said Urbin.
Urbin highlighted the fact that what happened in the Holocaust isn’t ancient history. He explains how this atrocity is something that happened within the lifetime of our grandparents.
“There are still survivors around today; we are losing those numbers very quickly each year, and that’s why remembering becomes even more important because the first-hand people we are losing, then we are going to need to keep that memory going for generations to come,” said Urbin.
When Hochhauser was asked how events like this film screening contribute to promoting tolerance, understanding, and remembrance in today’s society, she explained that when people take the time to listen, learn, and understand, that creates different empathy, tolerance, and understanding. Hochhauser clarified that when she says understanding, she means realizing where people’s ignorance, biases, and sometimes hate could exist by understanding what happened in history.
“The Holocaust, while killing six million Jews, for International Holocaust Remembrance Day it, memorializes everybody who was killed in the atrocities of the Nazis, including Catholics, including handicap, including developmentally delayed. It significantly affected the Jewish population, but in addition, it was also other communities,” said Hochhauser.
She believes that truly understanding how breaking down a civilization’s inability to hear each other and to communicate and talk leads to bad things, which, unfortunately, we’re still seeing.
When asked what role he believed cultural events play in fostering empathy and educating the public about historical atrocities, Urbin replied, “It’s this idea of the human story; it’s been going on since day one, and this particular thing we are talking about here, the Holocaust, which occurred in the 1940’s many of those themes are still going on today, hatred, prejudice, you know, it’s terrible,” said Urbin.
According to him, it’s imperative for individuals to understand that we, as people, need to come to terms with these types of themes and atrocities to begin to recognize them when they appear.
Barbara and Dorothy sat beside each other towards the front of the auditorium. As the movie unfolded, introducing different storylines that all shared the same common denominator — generational trauma — Barbara placed her hand on Dorothy’s as the sniffling sound of people’s tears echoed through the room.
After the film concluded, when Markus was asked about her thoughts, she replied, “It was beautiful, it was beautiful. I can’t tell about the pain; I’m eighty, I’m Jewish, and I always remember everything. We knew everything.”
Tolerance. Empathy. Protection of human rights. We need to remember these three things so the horrors of the past stay in the past.
Gunter Deming stumbling stones have now been placed in 30 countries across Europe, and his Stolpersteine project has become one of the world’s largest memorials, providing healing, compassion, and an opportunity for individual and community reconciliation.
