Auschwitz Now
26 January until 31 May 2010
Three generations later
On
28 October 1944, David Eduard Belinfante (born in The Hague in
1875) and Judith Belinfante-Mendes da Costa (born in Amsterdam in
1881) were sent on the very last transport from Theresienstadt to
Auschwitz. Eduard died in transit, and his wife Judith was killed
in the gas chambers of Auschwitz on 30 October 1944.
Sixty-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz, their
granddaughter Judith C. E. Belinfante (1943, former director Jewish
Historical Museum) and their great-grandson Alexander David Jansen
(1977) made the same journey in honour of their murdered forebears,
the victims no one had ever been allowed to mention. By breaking
the silence, they restored Eduard and Judith to their rightful
place in the family's history. In words and photographs, Judith and
Alexander sketched their personal confrontation with the past and
present. The story of their journey is dedicated to August David
(Guus) Belinfante (The Hague, 1911 - Amsterdam, 2000), Judith's
father and Alexander's grandfather. Auschwitz now. Three
generations later will be shown in the Hollandse
Schouwburg from 26 January until 31 May 2010.
Judith's poignant writings deal with the victims and the traces
that remind us of their presence. For instance, in Tallit
(prayer shawl), Judith writes about prayer shawls taken along by
deportees who considered them their most precious possessions.
These prayer shawls remain not only as symbols of the life of which
they once were part, but also as compelling reminders of those who
are absent, those who were murdered. Alexander David's photographs,
in contrast, suggest emotional distance, showing us a 'guilty
landscape' that has absorbed the memory of the past.
As a final tribute to the murdered family, Judith and Alexander
buried pebbles that they had brought from home, one in
Theresienstadt and another in Auschwitz. In the Netherlands, they
repeated this ritual at the grave of Guus Belinfante with a pebble
from the extermination camp, thus reuniting their family.
Auschwitz now is a gripping personal statement about
coming to grips with the Shoah, by a mother and son who each
confronted the past in their own way.
Watch the presentation Auschwiz now. Three generations
later here.
