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RELEASED: Nov. 11, 2004
DANVILLE, KY—The multi-media exhibit "Voices in the Darkness: The Holocaust, Arts, and Culture" opened this week at Centre's Norton Center for the Arts.
Norton Center managing director George Foreman and director of programs Debbie Hoskins worked with Stephen Goldman, director of the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, to bring this one-of-a-kind historical reminder of the millions who suffered and perished in the Holocaust.
The exhibit focuses on the profound effect the Holocaust had on arts and culture.
Between the years of 1933 to 1945, approximately six million Jews were exterminated as part of Hitler's "final solution." Also targeted were the handicapped, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals and certain Slavic peoples.
Among those were many of the finest artists, musicians, actors and actresses of the time. By the end of World War II, few had survived.
"Some of the greatest musicians and some of the greatest artists died at Auschwitz," Hoskins said.
"Voices in the Darkness" features hundreds of rare photos and artifacts that give a glimpse into who these people were, and how they used their varying talents to ease suffering and leave behind a legacy for future generations.
In many of the concentration camps, musicians formed camp bands; actors and dancers created theatricals; writers and artists documented the anguish with words and drawings — some of which survived the war.
"Voices in the Darkness" is the realization of a long-standing goal for Foreman and Hoskins.
After a visit a to the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., they'd hoped to bring a traveling version of the exhibit, "Remember the Children: Daniel's Story," to the Norton Center, but the pieces proved too large. During the next three years they, along with Goldman, researched and gathered materials for "Voices." They traveled to the Auschwitz Memorial Museum in Poland, to the Czech Republic to visit the Theresienstadt ghetto/concentration camp and to the U.S. Holocaust Museum.
The result was a powerful combination of photographs with accompanying history; artifacts found after the liberation of the camps; and a video documentary of interviews with camp survivors.
"Voices in the Darkness" will remain on display through June 2005. Events surrounding the exhibit include a visit in March by Dr. Vojtech Blodig, director of history for the Theresienstadt Camp, who will spend a week lecturing and teaching.
The College's Norton Center for the Arts, in its 31st season, is an internationally acclaimed performing arts center that annually brings to Centre a series of acclaimed musical groups, Broadway shows, individual performances and other works from the performing arts. A complete series schedule and subscription information are available upon request by calling toll-free at (877) 448-7469. You can also learn more by visiting http://www.centre.edu/nc/.
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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/
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