It will explore the plight of Jewish islanders, the experience of the foreign labourers of the Organisation Todt (a civil engineering group that worked throughout the occupied territories) and civilian political prisoners imprisoned and deported for acts of disobedience and defiance.
The exhibition has been curated by Barbara Warnock from The Wiener Holocaust Library, the world’s oldest Holocaust archive, and Gilly Carr from Cambridge University.
Pictured: Toby Simpson, Director of The Wiener Holocaust Library – the world’s oldest Holocaust archive.
The director of the world’s oldest Holocaust archive will also speak in Jersey later this month to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Toby Simpson will deliver the island’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day address on 27 January — an event dedicated to remembering the millions who lost their lives and ensuring such atrocities are not repeated.
The Wiener Holocaust Library, founded before the Second World War, has been a leader in Holocaust research and education for decades. Dr Simpson, who has been with the Library since 2011, has played a key role in expanding its exhibitions, tours, and outreach.
On the day of his visit to Jersey, the library will also launch a new online platform, the ‘Wiener Digital Collections’, which will make thousands of historical documents, photographs, and accounts available for public use.
The project builds on earlier work led by Dr Simpson that catalogued and digitised over 1,000 eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust.
Speaking ahead of his trip to Jersey, Dr Simpson said: “If we are to build a better future, we must grapple more effectively with our past.
“As Britain’s most extensive Holocaust archive, we have a special responsibility to support the excellent work that is happening in Jersey and throughout the Channel Islands to remember and understand the history of the Nazi occupation of the islands.”
Jersey’s Holocaust Memorial Day is a moment to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of others persecuted by the Nazis, including Roma, disabled individuals, and political prisoners.
The day also commemorates more recent genocides recognised by the UK government, such as those in Darfur.
The commemoration will take place at the Occupation Tapestry Gallery at the Maritime Museum and the Lighthouse Memorial on the New North Quay.
The ceremony is organised by Jersey Heritage on behalf of the Office of the Bailiff, in partnership with the Jersey Jewish Congregation, Jersey Arts Centre, and the UK Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
Martha Berstein, of the Holocaust Memorial Day Advisory Panel to Jersey Heritage, said: “As Director of the world’s oldest archival and library collection relating to the Holocaust and Nazi era, Dr Simpson’s knowledge and experience of sharing research, education and remembrance of this time in history will add great poignancy to the commemoration in Jersey and we look forward to welcoming him to the island.”
The exhibition will run from 3 to 29 January and will later be made available for loan to other organisations across the Channel Islands and beyond.
Islanders are invited to attend the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration on Monday 27 January at 13:00.