Shoah Museum and Amazing Dance

Friday June 27 was another nice day- though a bit more cloudy.  The wind came up at about 

7:00 p.m. and there was a light shower that ended quickly.  We started our day with a walk to the right bank and an early afternoon coffee at La Cafeotheque on Rue de l' Hotel Ville.  The coffee shop expanded about two years ago-- they roast their beans on-site.  We had espressos at the bar and Alain bought some beans to take home.

Alain with his coffee beans at La Cafeotheque

Our destination was the Memorial de la Shoah (the Holocaust Museum) to see the temporary exhibit: Regards sur les ghettos (Scenes from the ghettos).  The exhibit focused on photographs taken in the many ghettos that the Germans established in the annexed countries in the east. [There were over 400 ghettos established by the Germans].  The exhibit presented about 500 photographs of the ghettos.  The pictures were organized by ghetto and the specific photographers who took pictures (many surreptitiously).  Some were taken by Jews living in the ghettos (cameras were usually confiscated, so the photos were taken at great risk); some by German photographers with Propoganda units and others by German officers on their own time.  

Many of the Jewish photographers perished in the Holocaust, but in some cases their photos survived.  A few did survive and the exhibit had one video of an interview with George Kadish, a Jewish photographer who died in 1997.  It was a very moving exhibit.  Of particular interest was a collection of photographs by Henryk Ross, who testified at the Eichmann trial in 1961 and died in Israel in 1991.  His photos were taken in the Lodz Ghetto and were donated anonymously to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2006.

The Germans had a military propaganda unit called "Propaganda Companies" (known as PK).  They often took pictures in the ghettos for propaganda and anti-semitic purposes (portraying Jews in an unfavourable light or highlighting the differences between the wealthier and poorer Jews).  Photos would also be staged as well, often under gunpoint.

                                        German soldiers in Lodz Ghetto 1941- one holding a camera (PK photo)

One set of photos was particularly moving- those by Mendel Grossman, taken in the Lodz ghetto.  Grossman was born in 1913 and grew up in Lodz.  He was a budding photographer when war broke out.  He worked for the ghetto's statistics department, but also took many photos on his own time documenting life in the ghetto.  He was able to hide a box of negatives before the ghetto was liquidated in August 1944.  Grossman was deported to a German labour camp and perished during a death march in 1945.

Mendel Grossman In front of footbridge connecting two parts of Lodz ghetto. 1940-44

Jewish children eating besides a public soup kitchen

                                                         Children at forced labour

The following picture was taken by Mendel Grossman in September 1942 and pictures "A woman and her children parting from one of the boys who is being deported, separated by the fence of the central jail".

Lodz ghetto September 1942 (Mendel Grossman)

Jews awaiting deportation at ghetto central jail 1942

Picture of Grossman taking picture at deportation 1942

There were a series of photos taken by Hugo Jaeger in the Kutno ghetto in Poland.  Jaeger had been a well-known photojournalist in Germany before the war, documenting Hitler's private life since 1936.  He had been drafted into the German propaganda unit and took photographs in both the Kutno and Warsaw ghettos.  He had colour film and in contrast to other German propagandists, was able to establish a rapport with the people he was filming.  He hid his negatives in glass jars which he buried near Munich and dug up 10 years after the war.  He sold the photos to Life Magazine in 1965, but they were not published until 2009.

Three young women, Kutno Ghetto, April 1940

                                                   Scene of makeshift sheds- April 1, 1940, Kutno Ghette

Walter Genewein was a German photographer who took photos with a camera confiscated from a Jewish owner.  He worked in German administration in the Lodz Ghetto.

Hans Biebow head of the Ghetto's German administration and a Jewish internee 1940-44, Lodz Ghetto

There were a number of photos by Henryk Ross in the Lodz Ghetto.  Ross was born in 1910 and was employed by the statistics department of the Lodz Ghetto Judenrat (Jweish administration).  He, like Mendel Grossman took pictures of Jewish suffering and life in the Ghetto clandestinely.  He buried his negatives prior to the liquidation of the Ghetto.  He and his wife survived the war and he was able to retrieve the photos even after the Soviet forces took control of Lodz.  He moved to Israel in 1950.  What is interesting is that his photographs ended up being donated anonymously to the Art Gallery of Ontario, in 2006.

                    Deportation of Jews from the Lodz Ghetto- This woman is wearing three hats- Henyrk Ross 

                                        Portrait of Stefania, Henryk Ross's wife, Lodz Ghetto 1940-44

                                    Departure of carts carrying children during the "Gehsperre Aktion", Lodz Ghetto

There were a number of photos of the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest Ghetto that existed during the war- with a maximum population of 450,000.  Ludwig Knobloch was a German photographer with the PK (Propogranda Unit).

                                                   Ludwig Knobloch, View of ghetto from Aryan area- Warsaw May 1941

Willy Georg, a professional photographer born in 1911 in Munster, was a Wehrmacht radio operator stationed in Warsaw, who took pictures of the Warsaw ghetto on his own.  He hid a few rolls of film that survived the war.

                                                          Street Scenes, Summer 1941,Warsaw Ghetto

George Kadish, a Jewish high school science teacher, took photographs in Kovno, a Ghetto in Lithuania.  He survived the war and moved to the United States.  He died in 1997 and was the subject of an oral interview featured in the exhibit.

                                                    George Kadish's brother in law moving furniture into ghetto

                                                                     Portrait of George Kadish 1942

  A young boy with soup bowl.  He was shot dying to escape from the Germans in the Children's Aktion, March 27, 1944

As we left the exhibit, we walked outside through the Wall of Names, which has the 76,000 names of the Jews deported from France between 1942 ad 1944.  The complicity of the Vichy regime is noted. Only about 2500 people survived deportation.

                                                                  Wall of Names

There is another wall outside the building entitled the Wall of the Righteous, which pays tribute to the men and women who risked their lives in France to rescue Jews.

After our visit to the Museum, we had a late lunch at Miznon in the Marais.  Another great pita sandwich. This time we had a roasted whole cauliflower, one of their specialities.  I must try and make this sometime.

Alain with pita and roasted cauliflower

We wandered around the Marais for a bit more and eventually started our trek to the Palais Garnier (Paris Opera building) to see the Ballet de L'Opera perform two pieces: Dances at a Gathering by Jerome Robbins (1969) and Psyche by Alexei Ratmansky (2011).  Both were superb.  The music for the first dance was all Chopin (mostly Mazurkas, Waltzes and some Etudes), beautifully played by Ryoko Hisayama on piano.  The dancers were lovely- a very romantic piece- Robbins had been inspired by these particular Chopin pieces and kept adding more- there are ten dancers in various combinations and the dance lasts over an hour.

The second piece was a grand production choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky-- music by Cesar Franck (1890) performed by Orchestre de L'Opera National de Paris, accompanied by a choir (Choeur Accuntus).  The set and costumes were stunning.  The middle part of the dance had the corps in amazing flower-like costumes.  The dancing was amazing- definitely the highlight of the evening.

The theatre was almost full.  We hadn't had much choice when we bought the tickets last week- so while we had a bit of a restricted view- our seats were in the first level loges- near to the stage.  There were only six seats in our loge and we were in the second row.  All for only 12 Euros!  The Palais Garnier is a beautiful building, with the theatre's amazing ceiling designed by Chagall.

Poster for Ballet

Just a small section of the Opera building - Palais Garnier

Alain in our loge- we got there a bit early

Moi  aussi-- (they are small loges)

The screen before the performance

Almost a full house

The amazing Chagall ceiling- installed in 1964

We couldn't take photos during the performance- I managed a few of the curtain calls.

The bow after the Robbins piece

Intermission

The elaborate screen prior to the second dance

Two main dancers for Psyche


Close up of choir in background and some of the dancers

The last curtain call with the orchestra director

Both pieces were over an hour each.  The performances ended at around 10:00 p.m.  We walked to Rue Sainte-Anne, a street with a number of Japanese restaurants.  We stopped at Sapporo for some ramen-not the best, but it hit the spot.  We took the Metro back to our apartment.  A wonderful full day of different experiences.