Honoring the ‘Children of the Holocaust’
Rose Gelbart was 4-years-old when the Holocaust began. She and her mother were the only survivors of her family. Photo by Jacob Byk.
Over the past few months, the photographers, writers and designers of the Kent State School of Journalism and Mass Communication have joined together in a collaborative effort to tell the stories of Holocaust survivors and their families.
Thanks to sponsorship by the Jewish Studies Program and Hillel at Kent State, the school will be holding a reception and photo print exhibition Sunday, March 11, at 2 p.m. in the lobby of the FirstEnergy Auditorium at Franklin Hall to present and celebrate these incredible stories. The event, titled “Children of the Holocaust,” is free and open to the public.
The Kent State students gained the unique opportunity to write about and photograph the Holocaust survivors of Northeast Ohio and their families, which were then laid out into magazine format with the help of the university’s design students. The photojournalism students will also present a display of the photos they took throughout the project.
“We’re hoping this is going to be the beginning of a longer project with greater scope,” said Dave LaBelle, project director and photojournalism professor at Kent State. “We’ll continue to do interviews and tell the stories and add them to the series.”
LaBelle said the project is part of a larger series he’s put forth called “Vanishing Americans.”
“It’s another chapter in my attempt to preserve the past and celebrate the lives of the people who were instrumental in the history of our country and the world,” LaBelle said.
This opportunity has been moving for the students who heard and told the stories of these extraordinary survivors and their families. They look forward to sharing their hard work with the community and the people who have bravely contributed their accounts.
“I told my students that if they volunteered for this project, it would be a life-changing experience,” said Ann Schierhorn, who coached the writers through the project and is the director of the magazine program at Kent State.
Hillel at Kent State will be providing light refreshments. Parking is available in the parking lot by Franklin and Rockwell halls near the intersection of East Main Street and South Lincoln Street.
Contact Leighann McGivern at [email protected].