Asian, Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern Alumni
[PAST EVENT] Witnessing the Recovery: Storytelling and Family Building After the Holocaust
Access & Features
- Open to the public
“Man…is the storytelling animal. Wherever he goes he wants to leave behind not a chaotic wake, not an empty space, but the comforting marker - buoys and trail-signs of stories. He has to go on telling stories. . . As long as there’s a story, it’s all right” - Graham Swift, Waterland
Amidst the relief work in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, two intertwined projects were unfolding in displaced persons camps, orphanages, and hospitals: storytelling and family (re)building. Undertaking this work was a long-overlooked actor: caretakers. Uniquely positioned, caretakers were influential actors in the process of rehabilitation, they were listeners of the stories of their wards, and they were storytellers in their own right. “Witnessing the Recovery” will bring to light the narratives of a nurse, a pediatrician, and an administrator - ordinary people who provided bold leadership and demonstrated ingenuity as they strove to heal, mend, and rebuild, using the power of storytelling.