LEST WE FORGET — The exhibition featuring 70 photos of Holocaust survivors from around the world, including seven from the Kansas City area, opened last week on the Memorial Courtyard at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. The outdoor exhibit, featuring photos by Luigi Toscano, will be open through Sunday, Oct. 6. Each photo features a small information panel. The local photos were taken earlier this summer here with support from the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE).
Toscano created this exhibition to remember the tragedies of the Holocaust and its lasting effect on local communities. He has chosen parks and other common areas with increased accessibility to display his work. He said he started the project after he first met a survivor, and no one originally wanted to help fund it. But he persisted because, “If you forget the past, we are all destined to repeat it.” Through the project he has met more than 400 survivors and, he said, “every story is unique, touching and heartfelt.”
MCHE Executive Director Jean Zeldin was among the speakers at the opening.
“As Luigi has illustrated so uniquely and artistically,” she said, “Holocaust survivors are truly larger than life.”
In conjunction with “Lest We Forget,” the University of Missouri-Kansas City is hosting an on-campus event featuring UMKC History Professor Andrew Bergerson. The Jewish professor will host a conversation with Toscano on a panel with Cristina Albu, UMKC associate professor of art and art history, and Sandra Enriquez, assistant professor of history. The conversation is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, in 101 Katz Hall. The event is free, but RSVPs are requested and available by email to .
Fundraiser for DACA scholarships
Beth Torah members John Lantos and Tamara Falicov work with Centro Hispano Director Lily Romero to create a test batch of vegetarian tamales. A large batch of these tamales will be made at Beth Torah on Oct. 20 to sell as a fundraiser to help fund DACA scholarships locally.