Exhibition and Comic display Horrors of Holocaust
A Comic strip from 1944 inspired historian Ribbens: A book about the Horrors of the Holocaust. Ten artists from three countries approach the topic in entirely different ways. The works are now also presented in an exhibition.
At the Dutch NS Memorial Site Westerbork, there is an exhibition featuring Comics from ten artists from Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium about the Holocaust. "Showing the Unimaginable" is the title of the accompanying book with ten Comic-Strips about the Holocaust, which was also presented. The exhibition and book are a joint project of the memorial sites Neuengamme near Hamburg, the Caserne Dossin in Belgium, and the Memorial Site Westerbork.
The initiative came from the Dutch historian Kees Ribbens. He had recently discovered a short Comic strip in the USA, in which the artist August M. Froehlich had already depicted the arrival of transports with Jews in extermination camps in 1944. "Nazi Death Parade" is probably the oldest Comic about the atrocities of the Nazis.
Comic artists from the three countries were then commissioned to tell scenes from the camps as a comic story. They had access to historical sources. The artists came from different generations of the post-war period, said Ribbens to the German Press Agency in Amsterdam. "Therefore, their work shows different perspectives on the events, victims, and perpetrators of the Nazi era and establishes connections to the contemporary world."
The ten stories are collected in the book, which appears in German, English, French, and Dutch. The exhibition shows the original drawings, historical documents, and film and audio fragments. It will be shown at a later date also in Belgium and Neuengamme.
The Comic is published in four languages by the Scratch Books Publisher. The exhibition is open until September 1, 2023, at the Memorial Site Camp Westerbork.
The publication of the Comic strip titled "Nazi Death Parade" by August M. Froehlich, which depicts the arrival of Jewish transports to extermination camps during the Second World War, served as inspiration for historian Kees Ribbens. The Holocaust is also the subject of historical Comic Exhibitions, such as the one at the Dutch NS Memorial Site Westerbork, which features works from ten artists from Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. These exhibitions and accompanying books, like "Showing the Unimaginable," aim to provide different perspectives on the events, victims, and perpetrators of the Nazi era, highlighting their connection to contemporary politics.
