By Miriam Bell…

The battle to ensure the Holocaust is remembered, not distorted or denied has become urgent in the face of rising antisemitism globally, the people behind a new Holocaust exhibition in Auckland say.

And that’s why they believe Auckland, the country’s biggest city, needs a permanent home for an exhibition on the Holocaust.

Holocaust and Antisemitism Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand co-founder Perry Trotter said that in the post-October 7 world anything Jewish was being closed down.

The foundation had experienced something of this with its last exhibition, “Auschwitz.Now”, which had a successful and twice-extended run at the National Army Museum in Waiouru from September 2023.

“We were in negotiations – in fact we had the contract, it was just not signed – to show the exhibition at a national museum of significance. Then October 7 happened, and the arrangement was cancelled.

“It’s remarkable that institutions that ought to be taking this more seriously are doing the very opposite. They’re shrinking away from history that should be protected and presented to the world.”

That prompted him to put together the new exhibition, which brings together survivor testimony in the form of three minute interviews projected on a screen, and large-scale portraits of survivors and large canvases of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The foundation’s previous exhibitions have included similar combinations of elements. But Trotter has added in a new installation, called the Circle of Names, that commemorates the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

The Circle of Names is a darkened circular enclosure where there are screens with thousands of victims names projected onto them and spotlight rust collared pillars, each of which represents a different country.

To convey the magnitude of loss the size of each pillar is proportional to the number of victims from that particular nation. It is an attempt to help people visually comprehend the scale involved, he said.

“We’re trying to present the history to the world in a way that is beautiful, deeply respectful, and historically very robust – and that doesn’t universalise the Holocaust.

“It’s our intention to try and communicate to those who most need to understand that the gentile world did not learn the lessons of the Shoah.

Trotter, with his wife Dr Sheree Trotter, has been producing work educating on and commemorating the Holocaust, and telling the stories of survivors for over 15 years.

The work began back in 2008 when the family were in Israel staying at a kibbutz where many of the residents arrived as survivors as children.

He photographed many of the survivors, and the couple also interviewed many at length, and that led to the creation of their first Holocaust exhibition.

“The various stories that we present allow us to show a well-rounded and robust account of the experience of Jewish people in the 1930s and 1940s,” he said.

“It’s always been important to tell these stories, but given the ongoing rise in antisemitism since October 7 it is particularly timely right now.”

Trotter said when they first started this work, he used to say hyperbolically “these are the 1930s”, but the parallels were far more pronounced now.

“At a time like this when the Holocaust is under attack, and even memories of it are being challenged, we want to try and counter what is happening.

“That’s why we believe Auckland needs to have a permanent exhibition telling the story of the Holocaust.”

Sheree Trotter, who is director of the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem and a published historian with an interest in Zionism, agreed. 

It was about trying to push back on the false narratives that were around, and being promoted, she said.

“What we’re seeing is the stories of the Jewish people, the history, the Holocaust being eroded. We are in a battle for a narrative, and a lot of the work we do, both with the Holocaust work and other advocacy work, such as the Indigenous Embassy, is on the front line of that battle.”

The embassy provided a unique platform and voice to be able to promote messages which pushed back against other narratives, such as anti-Zionism, with a body of material that told the other side of the story, she said.

“But our desire is for this exhibition to have a permanent place for people to come and see what the Holocaust was about, to hear the survivor stories, and see the names.”

“One that is not going to universalize the story, and mix it up with the Nakba or what is happening in Gaza now. One that is going to be a remembrance of what happened to the Jewish people,” she said.

“Because when we talk about genocide, that was a genocide – it’s where the definition of genocide came from. If we don’t hold the space, it will get taken over and we see that happening globally.”

She believed there was hope in finding those who were open to, and cared about the truth or who understand the truth and stand with the Jewish people and for Israel.

It was pretty tough to do that in the current environment, so their goal was to try to strengthen the people that were supportive and build on that, she said.

“There’s hope in seeing that happen, in seeing communities emerge and become stronger, and seeing, for example, the indigenous community that stands with Israel growing.

“In one sense it’s about finding those people, and connecting with them, but there’s also the job of reaching the next generation. We’re working at all that but it is a slow process.”

Auckland businessman Andrew Krukziner, a member of the Jewish community, heads up the company which owns the building the new exhibition is currently housed in. 

He spoke at the launch of the exhibition, and said the Jewish people were facing an existential threat to their survival. 

It was certainly not the first time as Jews had faced threats throughout history from the Assyrian captivity and Babylonian exile to the Holocaust and Soviet anti-Zionism, he said.

“But the advent of the internet and the ability for the whole world to be worked up into an antisemitic frenzy is a new phenomenon, and something we should justly be terrified of. 

“A big part of addressing it is education and an explanation of the truth about Israel and its right and need to exist. The Holocaust plays a significant part in this education.”

Perry and Sheree Trotter, and his friend Brent McGregor who was also supporting the exhibition, were standing up for Israel for the Jewish people, and for what they believed was right, he said.

“They have done an outstanding job of creating this Holocaust exhibition from their own resources, and I thank them on behalf of all Jews. 

“They want to make this a permanent exhibition to educate New Zealanders, school children and all who do not understand Jews and our history, and they need and deserve support to achieve that.”

McGregor said he was seeing growing antisemitism, and that in today’s world it was easy for people to buy into the narrative that was in the newspaper every day, without really getting at the truth.

It was important the Jewish community knew that it had some support outside the immediate community, and while it might be a small base, it was one that was there for the Jewish community, he said.

“We are working on a few opportunities to secure a permanent location for the exhibition, and I hope people will consider how they might want to support the long-term vision.”

In the meantime, he encouraged people to spread the word that the exhibit was coming as a permanent feature. 

“If you’ve got friends, family, any connections that are sympathetic to this cause and want to get onboard and remember the true history of the Holocaust visiting and supporting this is one way to do that.”

Earlier exhibitions by the foundation, which was previously known as Shadows of the Shoah and which is a registered charitable trust, have toured widely. 

The foundation’s first exhibition, which was launched in 2013 by then Prime Minister John Key, was staged in nineteen museums, galleries, and public spaces throughout New Zealand.

The “Auschwitz. Now” exhibition was launched in January 2020, at a United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day event attended by 500 people. 

The exhibition was staged at Parliament immediately prior to the Covid-19 lockdown and later in Auckland in partnership with AUT University and then Elim College. 

More recently, it was at the National Army Museum for an extended season, and has been staged in Wellsford and in Birkdale, Auckland.

The foundation’s new exhibition is on show at an Auckland CBD location until September 26. Click HERE to book a viewing.