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A Story of
Survival, Memory
and Returns
May 21 - Jan 18
"When he was in the Kraków ghetto he was still taking photos, and those photos were buried in Płaszów and discovered after the war, he hid them in a pickle jar, a glass pickle jar in Płaszów ... He remembered their names, he remembered if they survived the war, he remembered everything about them."
Born to a Polish Jewish family in Kraków in 1923, Richard Ores was a teenager when World War II broke out. As an avid amateur photographer, Richard documented the world around, capturing family and friends enjoying pre-war life. Smuggling in his camera and possession of photographs, Richard courageously continued to document, including in the Kraków Ghetto, creating symbolic proof of the existence of family and friends, most of whom were killed. In an act of perseverance and demonstrating great fortitude, he buried his photos in a jar while enslaved in the infamous Płaszów Concentration Camp. After the war, he unearthed the photos, providing a reminder of existence of his family and friends.
The original photos recovered from the jar will be displayed at Holocaust Museum LA for the first time in the United States following an exhibition at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków, Poland.
Join us to explore the layered relationships of Holocaust survivors and their families with their homelands: the universal story of a deep longing, despite trauma and pain, a testament to courage, hope, and belonging.
In partnership with
Holocaust Museum LA Curatorial and Design Team: Jordanna Gessler, Christie Jovanovic, Brett Aronson
Galicia Jewish Museum Curatorial Team: Monika Bielak, Tomasz Strug, Adam Schorin
Curatorial Advisors: Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Dr. Edyta Gawron, Jakub Nowakowski, Michelle Ores, Anna Wencel
Original Exhibition Design: Monika Bielak
Interviews: Oren Rudavsky
Holocaust Museum LA and the Galicia Jewish Museum are grateful to Michelle Ores and Nina Ores for providing objects and photographs, as well as the entire Ores family for making the exhibition possible.
Gratitude for the interviews included in the exhibition go to Dr. Celia Ores, Michelle Ores, Adam Schorin, Marc Schorin, Pauline Ores, Dr. David Ores, Lynda Ores, Nina Ores, Jessica Ores, Dr. Agnieszka Legutko.
Special thanks to the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University.
Generously sponsored by
