Holocaust survivors and artists have completed a University of Victoria-led graphic novel series that aims to make the murder of six million Jews in the Second World War an easier topic to raise with younger audiences.
The autobiographical book, But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust, has united four survivors and three graphic artists to offer a compilation of historical essays and first-hand accounts from the Holocaust.
Charlotte Schallie, chair of UVicB次元官网网址檚 Germanic and Slavic studies department, specializes in Holocaust history and worked with the contributors for two years to focus the book on lesser-known accounts and a survivor-centred approach.
ALSO READ:
B次元官网网址淭he question is how we can learn about [the Holocaust] in a thoughtful, trauma-informed way,B次元官网网址� she said.
The account contributed by Canadian Holocaust survivor David Schaffer, for example, addresses less talked about themes like resistance.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the story of resisting by surviving and resisting by disobeying orders,B次元官网网址� Schallie explained.
Other themes from the bookB次元官网网址檚 three stories include the effects of trauma on Holocaust survivorsB次元官网网址� descendants and the importance of letting survivors share their own stories.
Whereas the Holocaust tried to silence the voices of Jews and other targeted groups, the book makes it a priority to amplify the accounts of survivors while theyB次元官网网址檙e still alive to share them. Schallie said most remaining survivors are now in their mid-80s, meaning every last eyewitness account from the Holocaust could disappear in the next 10 years.
She recognized that in Canadian high schools, where studying the Holocaust isnB次元官网网址檛 mandatory, teachers donB次元官网网址檛 always have time to address the matter. She added it can be a challenging topic for teachers to address when they do have time.
B次元官网网址淲e really want to teach this in a human-rights framework.B次元官网网址�
Schallie also said first-hand accounts of the sheer violence experienced during the Holocaust could easily overwhelm students - or may even be too horrific for survivors to adequately express.
B次元官网网址淲hat if the memory is so violent it cannot be represented?B次元官网网址�
The project received limited funding, but Schallie said it was a B次元官网网址渞eally process-basedB次元官网网址� endeavour that required the trust of everyone involved, particularly the survivors.
ALSO READ:
She expressed gratitude for the additional support they received from the Ravensbrueck Memorial in Germany, Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.
She said the survivors she worked with approached the telling of their stories very thoughtfully and never simply as monologues.
B次元官网网址淚t showed me really how relevant it is to work with survivors.B次元官网网址�
Schallie said the book was a beautiful and meaningful project and a team effort where both the storytellers and artists taught each other something new. For youth and young adults especially, she expects the graphic novels will keep readers fully engaged on an often dark and sensitive topic - as well as bring them to quietly reflect and contemplate it.
B次元官网网址淭he graphic novel you can never passively consume. You have to sit down and read it.B次元官网网址�
The book was published May 30 at the University of Toronto and is available at .
Do you have a story tip? Email: evert.lindquist@blackpress.ca.
Follow us on and and like us on
