A powerful Holocaust exhibit and open House will take place Sunday, June 8, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at Colbern Road Library in Lee’s Summit. “Shoah: How Was It Humanly Possible?” challenges viewers to confront difficult questions about conformity and the capacity for courage in the face of evil.
Through 20 vivid panels, it examines the unprecedented systematic genocide perpetrated in Europe from 1933 to 1945, Through compelling photos and powerful words, it trace the evolution of the Holocaust from peaceful Jewish neighborhoods in pre-war Europe through the rise of Nazi Germany, exploring how ordinary human beings became willing participants in the mass murder of millions.
“When viewers see these images and learn their stories, something changes,” says Anita Widaman, director of VisionIsrael.org and publisher of Metro Voice. “They begin to understand why we say ‘never again’ – and why that promise is more important now than ever.”
“Shoah”, the Hebrew word for Holocaust, encourages Christian communities to confront the hardest questions of faith and humanity. How do ordinary people turn on their neighbors or, turn their homes into secret hiding places from the Nazis.
“Some lessons can only be learned by looking evil in the eye,” Widaman believes. “But there’s also hope as it examines the strength of the soul from where ordinary people risked their own lives, and those of their families, to shelter their neighbors from the Nazis.”
Widaman shares that before seeing such an exhibit, people might ask me how normal people could let this happen. “This exhibit answers that question by showing how gradually, step by step, an entire society turned against its neighbors. It’s a warning about how fragile our humanity can be,” she says.
“Shoah: How was it Humanly Possible?” is produced by Widaman and her husband, Dwight, in partnership with Yad Vashem: the World Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. The couple founded Vision Israel as an educational nonprofit and developed relationships with Yad Vashem on the tours to Israel they organize for groups.
Media partners include Metro Voice and Bott Radio Network.
–Lee Hartman