The exhibition Seeing Auschwitz is a welcome reminder of the value of looking closely at photographic evidence of the Holocaust (Seeing Auschwitz photographic exhibition opens in London, 20 October).
We are very fortunate in Britain to have one of the most comprehensive photographic archives on this subject anywhere in the world, in the Wiener Holocaust Library. The genocide of Europe’s Jews was accurately photographed, filmed and documented, perhaps to an even greater degree than a general visitor to this exhibition may realise. Photographs formed part of the prosecution’s evidence at the Nuremberg trials and have been a valuable resource for researchers ever since.
The risks of taking images of such harrowing crimes at face value can be very serious. The dynamics of social media are a case in point. While the SS officers who photographed this camp formed a valuable cache of historical sources in doing so, they set out to deliberately and methodically dehumanise those depicted.
An exhibition of this kind is welcome. I hope it will encourage people to use and interpret the most emotive photographs with the necessary sensitivity.
Toby Simpson
Director, Wiener Holocaust Library
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