As part of the nationwide campaign, Wunderbar Together: Year of German-American Friendship, Goethe Pop Up Kansas City brings the international Holocaust remembrance project “Lest We Forget” to Kansas City in partnership with the National WWI Museum and Memorial. Opening on Sept. 20, this installation from German-Italian photographer and filmmaker Luigi Toscano will be exhibited on the Memorial Courtyard at the National WWI Museum and Memorial until Oct. 6, 2019.
For “Lest We Forget,” Toscano visited and took portraits of almost 400 Holocaust survivors in the United States, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Belarus, Austria and the Netherlands. These pictures are at the center of this unique photographic installation. Instead of exhibiting them in a museum or a gallery, Toscano presents the large-scale portraits together with small information panels in public places such as parks, squares or on facades, so they are accessible to everyone. In this way, “Lest We Forget” reaches thousands of people — regardless of age, origin, language or education.
“The portrayed survivors are the faces and voices of the culture of remembrance,” Toscano said. “They shared a lot with us and they encouraged us to spread their portraits and stories throughout the world. But ‘Lest We Forget’ is much more than just looking back at our dark past: It urges everyone to confront the past in order to ensure that nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again.”
The installation at the Museum and Memorial features 70 portraits of Holocaust survivors, seven of which were recently taken in Kansas City with support from the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. At the formal opening ceremony at noon on Friday, Sept. 20, local survivors will be in attendance as well as political representatives and other distinguished guests. The artist will conduct guided tours following the ceremony.
In September 2015, the inaugural display of “Lest We Forget” was presented in Mannheim, Germany, Toscano’s hometown, to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The installation was later exhibited in Kiev, Ukraine, during the 75th anniversary of the massacre of Babyn Yar.
In 2018, “Lest We Forget” was brought to the United States. The exhibition was first shown in New York City where it was installed at the United Nations headquarters to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In April, it was shown in Washington, D.C., where more than 120 portraits were placed along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Around 150,000 visitors were able to see the world’s largest exhibition of this kind in a public space.
In October 2018, “Lest We Forget” was in Boston and in April 2019, the installation was featured in San Francisco. In May, it opened in Vienna and Mainz, Germany. Further exhibitions are being planned in cities around the world including Pittsburgh, Chicago, Brussels and Geneva.
“Lest We Forget” is under the patronage of the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Heiko Maas.
Goethe Pop Up Kansas City operates within the framework of Wunderbar Together: Year of German-American Friendship by hosting events, promoting cultural exchange and serving as a platform for individuals and artists to discuss shared values and ideas. From October 2018 until late 2019, Germany is highlighting its close friendship to the United States through a yearlong festival. Working with more than 200 partners, the celebration will feature over 1,000 events across all 50 states. Wunderbar Together: Year of German-American Friendship is a comprehensive and collaborative initiative funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, implemented by the Goethe-Institut, and supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI).