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Photographs and stories of Holocaust survivors who live in Florida are featured in a new exhibit.
By BRANDY STARK
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 6, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- "I survived. I beat Hitler."
The words, written by a shaky hand, are etched across the bottom of a large black and white photograph. The man in the image stands proudly, his face reflecting dignity shadowed by grief and memory. The message is powerful: Even in the worst of experiences the human soul prevails.
This is one of the 112 portraits created by photographer Jason Schwartz, hanging in the Florida Holocaust Museum's current exhibition, "Fragments: Portraits of Survivors."
The black and white pictures, arranged in the alphabetical order of the subjects' names, show Florida residents who survived the Holocaust. Biographies, composed from the notes of the photographer, video interviews and entries from the participants, are displayed next to each image.
Fred May stands in a glen, wearing a plaid shirt and glasses. The camera lens captures him deep in thought, distant in his memories. At the bottom of the picture, May writes "I was one of the lucky ones."
Paul Molner, who has three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, lived through Auschwitz. He encountered Dr. Mengele and endured an attack by a guard dog. Yet his face is soft and bears no enmity. "Even at the lowest point I still believed that the world is basically good." he wrote on his portrait. "I still thought, "things are going to turn out O.K.' And it did."
The project is the brainchild of museum trustee John Stross, who was inspired after meeting local Holocaust survivors. He worked with Mark and Patty LaPrade and Leonard Englander to create a visual and literary archive.
A nationwide call to artists was issued. After reviewing the entries, a committee chose Schwartz, a freelance photographer from Toronto, to produce the project.
"The museum was familiar with his works from a previous exhibit we hosted," said museum spokeswoman Diane Tindell. "Also, Jason has an incredible ability to capture images of emotion and thought in film. He wants his viewers to really feel what he photographs."
Schwartz, assisted by his wife, Shirley, set appointments with the participants. After the interviews, the survivors were photographed in their homes to capture additional elements of their personalities. None of the photographs were touched up or edited, in order to maintain the purity of the show as a historical document and photographic essay.
"I'm extremely proud to be associated with this show," Schwartz said. "From the survivors I met and interviewed, I learned that no matter what kind of adversity one faces in life, the human spirit is capable of rising above tragedy to conquer hardship and great loss."
"Fragments: Portraits of Survivors," at the Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 Fifth St. S., St. Petersburg, through March 10. Admission: $6 adults; $5 seniors and college students; $2 children, 18 and under; museum members free. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call (727) 820-0100.