"Each year, there are fewer eyewitnesses among us who remember the hell of Auschwitz. And so we are left with the authenticity of the Memorial. Today, this authenticity must bear witness and speak to us so that, in the background, we can almost hear the voices of those who have fallen silent. We must all take care of this place where things happened that left an everlasting mark on our European civilization, and all human civilization. Auschwitz symbolizes the entire history of the Shoah and the whole system of concentration camps. Auschwitz symbolizes the unprecedented high-water mark of evil. We cannot understand ourselves without understanding Auschwitz. Caring for this place is not exclusively an obligation to past generations, to the victims and the survivors. To a large degree, it is also an obligation towards the generations to come." Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum Report 2009
An Australian artist has defended a video of her family dancing at concentration camps in Europe, saying she wanted to "present a fresh interpretation of the past".
Melbourne Jewish artist Jane Korman posted three "Dancing Auschwitz" videos on YouTube in January. One of the videos in which the dancing occurs, featuring Gloria Gaynor's song I Will Survive, received more than 340,000 hits.
The clips were made during a visit to Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany with Ms Korman's father, her niece and her four children in June last year.
One of them showed five family members dancing at Holocaust sites, such as, in front of the "Arbeit macht frei" sign at the gates of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland and at the Theresienstadt concentration camp in the Czech Republic.
Ms Korman's 89-year-old father Adolk, a Holocaust survivor, was one of the dancers.
At one point, he is shown making a peace sign with his fingers and wearing a T-shirt with the word "survivor" across it.
At the end of the video, he is heard saying: "This is a really historical moment. If someone would tell me here, then, that I would come 60-something-three years later with my grandchildren, so I'd say 'What you talking about?' "
Some Jewish people accused Ms Korman of trivialising their suffering at the hands of the Nazis during World War II.
"I don't see how this video is a mark of respect for the millions who didn't survive, nor for those who did," Kamil Cwiok, whose family members died at Auschwitz told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.
"It seems to trivialise the horrors that were committed there," said the 86-year-old.
But Ms Korman said today that the videos were "very important" to her as she wanted younger generations to "see a different picture of the Holocaust".
"It represents the past, present and future generations," she told Sky News.
"It was very important for me, especially for the younger generations of today so they could see a different picture of the Holocaust compared to what's the normal representation."
She had earlier written on her website that the dance expressed "an attempt at celebrating life, but also evokes absence, loss and mourning".
The artist said she was very nervous when she was filming the family dancing to the music playing on her laptop.
"It was very odd and, at times, it was very uncomfortable," she told the BBC.
"I had to do deep breathing to calm myself and also to tell the others that 'OK everyone snap out of it, we have to dance', which was extremely awkward and uncomfortable."
The video was filmed away from other visitors to the concentration camps as much as possible, Ms Korman said.
But those who did see the family dancing reacted in a way that she did not expect.
"People were moved and started pulling out their video cameras and clapping and applauding. It was a bit surprising ... in the end, people seemed to get it," she told the BBC.
She said reaction to the video after it was put together was overwhelming.
"It's been fascinating. Tons of positive responses and tons of negative responses. Lots of hate messages and lots of love messages and overall it's a very raw picture of world thought towards this issue."
Ms Korman said she was initially nervous at approaching her father about making the dance clips.
"I was a bit nervous at first to explain [to] them the idea but I think it was 15 minutes before our first performance he said: 'Great, we've alive and I'm here with my grandchildren today and let's celebrate.' "
Mr Korman told the BBC the family prayed for the dead at the camps before they danced.
"The dancing was also very important because we are alive. We survived. We were dancing to the song of survival."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUvo5OHH6o8
I'm not sure what I think about this. I can kind of understand exactly why they did it. I can also understand why a lot of people are really hurt by it.
I am biased. Those of you who have listened to me in class would know that I am not in favour of opening holocaust sites to tourists. I think that they are too important to be simply another stop for a tourist bus. BUT I can also accept how people believe that they must be open to counter the arguments of of holocaust deniers. And these people were not mere tourists.
So over to you! What do you think? Is this appropriate or inappropriate commemoration of the holocaust?
Perhaps I'm saying this because my grandfather was an Auschwitz survivor, but I am not amused. There are some places where one ought not dance, and outside Auschwitz-Birkenau is definitely one of those places. And I cannot help but notice that she's using the fact that she's jewish as a free pass with which to make the fact that she is trivialising genocide alright.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a tacky publicity stunt. Saying the Mourners Kaddish before you start dancing to a song reserved for drag queens doesn't mitigate in the slightest.
I think you put that very well Adela! I agree completely, but maybe we are out of touch with this crazy modern world.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine recently went to a funeral only to find the church done out like a birthday party with balloons and streamers and party music. The guy wanted a party funeral to celebrate his life rather than be sad about it. They played comedy dvds, etc... right through the service. My friend said that he felt VERY VERY uncomfortable and I would have too. But that most of the people there got right into it and seemed to love it.
I heard the woman who planned the Auschwitz dance interviewed and I must admit she came across as a bit of a flake. She did it as a performance piece for her Fine Arts degree at Monash. I think that makes it even worse.
My wife said that she could both understand why they did it as an act of defiance and at the same time understand why other people found it so upsetting.
This is why I find monuments, memorials and public/private memory so fascinating. One person's meat is another person's poison.
You should look up the controversy over the Roosevelt Memorial in Washington and his wheelchair.
Oh my, if this woman posted this on Jewtube (yes, such a thing exists), she would remind me very much of Rudolf Hess.
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