“Surviving the Plan,” a photo exhibit that documents survival during the Holocaust, will be on exhibit through April 30 at the JCC Gallery on Grant in Deal. At the opening night reception on April 6 are, from left, survivors Maud Dahme of Flemington and David Wisnia of Levittown, Pa.; photographer Jerry Casciano; Assemblyman John Wisniewski; and Dr. Paul Winkler, head of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education. Photos courtesy Jill Garbi
April 22, 2008
For photographer Jerry Casciano, the eyes are the windows to the soul. Casciano’s photo exhibit, “Surviving the Plan,” a group of photographs that documents endurance during the Holocaust, will be on exhibit through April 30 at the JCC Gallery on Grant in the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center in Deal.
The exhibit contains 20 photographs that were taken in the ruins of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and the Warsaw Ghetto, along with 10 photos of survivors. All of the survivors depicted in the exhibit, many of whom are holding family photographs, are New Jersey residents. A brief survival story, composed by Casciano, accompanies each of their pictures.
Approximately 75 people, including Casciano and some of his photos subjects, attended the April 6 opening night reception at the JCC.
“Obviously, the true heroes today are the survivors,” said Casciano, a Rumson resident who has been a commercial photographer for 30 years. “We really can’t fathom what they went through. I’ve tried to be their eyes.”
For the survivors, however, reliving the past was not an easy task.
“It was very emotional for us, to hold these items, and to go back in time,” said Maud Dahme of Flemington, who attended the opening night reception. “But this is such a moving exhibit.”
Sam Kujowski of Pennsauken, a survivor of Auschwitz who was also at the reception, found that his skills as a cabinetmaker were in demand by a camp guard. The guard asked Kujowski to construct some cabinets in his home in exchange for bread.
A guard at Auschwitz asked Sam Kujowski of Pennsauken, a cabinetmaker, to construct some cabinets in his home in exchange for bread.
The guard fulfilled his promise; when the job was complete, he tossed bread to Kujowski — and simultaneously kicked him savagely in the face.
But Casciano’s skills as a photographer and interviewer helped the survivors reveal painful memories, according to Dr. Paul Winkler, head of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education in Trenton.
“He was incredibly sensitive and considerate,” said Winkler. “He used great care in helping the survivors dredge up some very old and painful experiences.”
Winkler became aware of Casciano’s exhibit four years ago, and the commission viewed the project as a powerful educational tool. It opened in August 2004 at Drumthwacket, the governor’s residence in Princeton.
Casciano’s interest in Shoa survivors took root during his childhood. His father, the late Jerry Casciano Sr., was among the first members of the U.S. army to liberate Dachau. He shared memories with his son about the horrific scene he saw at the camp.
“I knew I would visit some of the camps one day,” said Casciano, who spent three weeks photographing the locations in 2004. When he returned to the United States, he spent two additional months taking pictures of some of NJ’s survivor population.
Casciano’s skills behind the lens told impressive stories, said state Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Dist. 19).
“This display underscores the importance of our democracy,” Wisniewski said during the opening night event. “We all have a collective responsibility to make sure we all do the right thing. It’s important to educate the public, particularly the younger generation, about the Holocaust.”
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