‘Brings you closer to what they experienced’: Holocaust survivor exhibit opens in Saskatoon

Here to Tell: Faces of Holocaust Survivors is now open at the Frances Morrison Library. (Laura Woodward/CTV News)

Dahlia Libin stands in front of a picture of her late grandmother, holocaust survivor Sonia Kravitz, sharing her story with a small crowd.

She described how Kravitz tore off the yellow star Jews were forced to wear and escaped into the forests of Poland to survive.

Kravitz’s story is one of 20 featured in Here to Tell: Faces of Holocaust Survivors, a new photography exhibit at the Frances Morrison Library.

“We’re soon to be in a world without any Holocaust survivors,” Libin said.

“It’s our obligation to make sure that stories continue to be shared.”

• Get the latest news from Saskatoon, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

The exhibit, which began in Calgary, features survivors with connections to Western Canada.

“The Holocaust didn’t start with murdering. It started with words. It started with hate. It started with the erosion of critical thinking,” she said.

“We need to reflect on what took place during those very dark, dark years.”

Libin said the installation is especially important today.

“Right now, there’s a big rise in anti-Semitism, jew hatred,” Libin told CTV News.

She said that fear is what kept some survivors from participating.

For visitors like Seth Schachter, the exhibit makes history feel personal.

“It brings you closer to what they experienced, and how we can’t allow it to ever happen again,” Shacter said.

The exhibit is free and open during library hours until June 2.