The HerStories project came to a poignant close in Dresden from 13-15 September 2024, with a series of impactful events held at various venues across the city. The aim was to connect with a broad audience and celebrate the narratives of seven Jewish female Holocaust survivors from Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and the Czech Republic.
The event began at the Kulturpalast Dresden on the 13th and 14th with the HerStories exhibition and the musical performance "Ich wand’re durch Theresienstadt" at Kulturpalast Dresden that focuses on the experiences of Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt (Terezín) concentration camp during World War II.
The opening of the HerStories exhibition on the 14th of September at Kulturpalast featured speeches from Fabian Rühle of Centropa Germany and Stefan Kiehne of Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V. who welcomed guests and presented the project. Anna Pantelakou from the Jewish Museum of Greece spoke about the exhibition’s concept, structure, and design. The most moving moment came from Dory Sontheimer, daughter of Holocaust survivor Rosl Heilbrunner, whose story is featured at the HerStories exhibition. Dory Sontheimer shared her mother’s harrowing yet resilient story of surviving the Holocaust and the Francoist regime in Spain under a new identity.
The HerStories exhibition was also hosted by the Besht Yeshiva Synagogue, where Doreen Siegmund and Stefan Kiehne from Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V. provided insights into the project and the exhibition. Both venues offered an intimate viewing experience of the HerStories documentary film, screened on small screens for individual reflection.
The event concluded on the evening of September 15th with a well-attended screening and discussion of the HerStories documentary at KulturCentrale. These events marked the project’s successful culmination, bringing to light Jewish women’s stories of persecution, deportation, and flight, as well as their incredible resilience, resistance, and efforts to rebuild their lives after World War II.
We are honoured to have shared these powerful stories and have fostered a deeper understanding of European history through the HerStories project.
Program
Friday, 13.09.2024
17:00 HerStories Exhibition at Kulturpalast Dresden
18:00 Music Performance Ich wand’re durch Theresienstadt at Kulturpalast Dresden
Saturday, 14.09.2024
14:00 HerStories exhibition opening at Kulturpalast Dresden
20:30 Konzert Duo Svetlana Kundish (voice) & Patrick Farrell (accordion and piano) at Besht Yeshiva Dresden
Sunday, 15.09.2024
13:00 HerStories exhibition opening at Besht Yeshiva Dresden
14:00 Workshop for kids – dancing, singing and handicrafts with the Jewish artist Eliana Jacobs Hanse at Besht Yeshiva Dresden
16:00 Workshop for women - an interactive introduction to the traditional Jewish art of paper cutting with Eliana Jacobs Hanse at Besht Yeshiva Dresden
19:00 HerStories documentary film screening at KulturCentrale
20:00 Exhibition opening Wer wird in Zukunft mitgenommen? - Who will be taken along in the future? by Yevgeny Feldmannat the Full Moon Gallery