NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The New Rochelle Public Library will host the poignant exhibit of photographs by Seth Harrison, “L’dor Vador/From Generation to Generation,” from January 8th through January 28th, in the library’s Lumen Winter Gallery. The exhibition features 11 large-scale color digital photographs of Holocaust survivors and their descendants and an accompanying 12-and-a-half-minute video.
The photographs originally accompanied a Journal News/Lohud feature story about the impact of their parents’ and grandparents’ experiences on the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. The project asked: “How do you talk about the most painful and formative experiences imaginable when those experiences occurred before you were born?” It suggested that, “with the number of Holocaust survivors dwindling that is one of the challenges facing their children and grandchildren as they take on the responsibility of reminding the world of the depths to which humanity is capable of descending.” All of the participating families were located with the assistance of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center in White Plains, in particular its Generations Forward program, which helps second- and third-generation survivors learn how to share their loved ones’ stories, as well as the Holocaust Museum and Center for Tolerance and Education in Suffern.
Seth Harrison has been a photojournalist at The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County for the past 29 years. His body of work also includes documenting the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, several Presidential elections, Superstorm Sandy, the mass shootings in Newtown, CT, coverage of five World Series, and the Boston Marathon bombings, where he covered the tragedy after crossing the finish line as a runner.
The opening of the exhibit on Sunday, January 8th will include a concert, an introductory presentation and an exhibit reception. At 4:00 pm, a concert by the multi-generational musicians of the members of the Westchester Klezmer Program will perform a concert of traditional Jewish dance music in the library’s Ossie Davis Theater. Made possible by the Friends of NRPL, a donation of $2.00 for adults is suggested at the door.
Immediately following the concert, at 4:45 pm, Kathy Grosz-Zaltas will provide an introduction to the exhibit. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Ms. Grosz-Zaltas tells their story to honor their lives and to have their story serve as a purposeful tool to look at bullying, injustice, antisemitism and bigotry in our world today. Her parents grew up in different parts of Czechoslovakia, enjoying happy, cultured and well-to-do lives. And then, suddenly, the Nazi era began to control their lives, destroying their families forever. Concentration Camps, Forced Labor, Death Marches were their lot…Despite their hardships and loss, survival was their personal miracle. Kathy speaks about their lives after the War, along with their growing family in America. She discusses what it is like to be part of the Second Generation.
Kathy lives with her husband in Rye, New York, with her family and grandchildren living close by. She was a foreign language teacher for 17 years in Westchester County. Currently, she and her family are the owners of Zaltas Gallery of Fine Jewelry, where she curates fine jewelry and diamonds as well as creates custom pieces for her clients. Kathy is a member of Generations Forward, a group of second and third generation individuals sponsored by the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center of White Plains, New York.
An exhibit reception in the Lumen Winter Gallery will conclude the afternoon’s event, and will take place from 5:15 pm – 6:30 pm in the library’s Lumen Winter Gallery. Guests will have an opportunity to view the exhibit and meet Seth Harrison and some of the survivors.