S$ PO TL GH T Rites of sanctification Nomi Kaplan’s Kaddish project keeps alive memories of the Holocaust’s Jewish victims ITH THE excep- tion of a cousin, Nomi Kaplan’s fa- ther’s entire family was murdered by the Nazis dur- ing the Second World War. “My grandfather was shot out- side his house. The Lithuanians were zealots about getting rid of Jews,” says Kaplan. In 1940 she, her brother, mother and father looked to Canada as a haven, but found that this country was more interested in keeping Jews out than rescuing them. “My mother’s father’s charisma got us in (to Canada),”’ she says. “He had a friend who spoke to a government official on his behali, and when he met my grandiather he said he would issue a visa for him and his family because, he said, ‘he wasn’t the usual kind of Jew.’ “There was a tremendous amount of pushing, tears and beg- ging. It was a conspiracy on the part of the whole world not to let the Jews in and let them die.” Haunted by her father's grief and the memory of the millions who perished in the concentration camps, Kaplan, now 58, has created a personal and public his- tory detailing one aspect of the Holocaust: the lack of last rites for those killed in mass murder. The Vancouver collage artist has intermingled historical film stiils, photo documentation, European memorials and inscribed burial texts in her ait exhibit, which opened fast September in Mon- treal and is currently running at North Vancouver's Presentation House Gallery. She has also created large photographic murals of Polish Jews’ gravestones. The long, dark rectangular images hang side by side on a contrasting white wall — stark reminders of a Jewish com- munity that once flourished and now lies buried and destroyed. Kaplan has appropriately named her show Kaddish, which means “sanctification.” The Kaddish is a Jewish mourner’s prayer for the dead. It is recited at the burial, during the 11-month period of mourning after a death, and on the anniversary of the deceased. It is Kaplan’s own Kaddish for her father, who suffered for years in silence, and a memorial for the nameless who have vanished. “This project isn’t about death, it’s about Kaddish and remember- ing and refusing to let the memo- ties of these people die,” says Kaplan, an attractive woman with cropped white nair and saucer eyes. “It really bothered me that ihese people were treated worse than animals — killed in large numbers and thrown into a pit without proper burial ritual. They were robbed of respect and digni- ty. They didn’t have anyone to say a prayer for them. That's a very horrible thing.” Both her exhibit and Los Angeles artists, Gay Block and Malka Drucker’s Rescuers of the Holocaust (their show is running concurrently with Kaddish at Presentation House), a photo documentary of ordinary Euro- peans who hid and saved Jewish lives during the Second World War, seem a little out of place in a photo gallery. It’s the kind of thing that would be more at home in a museum. Even though there is clearly ar- tistic merit, Kaplan agrees her em- Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE phasis was more the issue, not the fine art esthetic. It was a personal mission, she says, to let people know what re- ally happened to the Jews. So she felt a great sense of disappointment when the majority of people who turned out to hear her speak about her show were Jews, Poland where Kaplan was able to find traces of a once vibrant Jewist community. Prior to the Second World War there were an estimated three million Jews living in Poland; today that number has dwindled to between 5,000 and 10,000. Using fine cotton and oil-based crayon, she took rubbings of headstone engravings which she turned into photograms (an image produced on photographic mate- rial without the use of a camera,as by placing the object on material and exposing it to light). The work, she says, was in- credibly difficult -- but doing it brought her in touch with the spirits of the innocent who perish- ed. "T really felt a kinship with my Past — touching the stones and seeing the names. It was a NEWS photo Mike Wakefield NOMI KAPLAN and her ‘‘grandog"”’ Musty in the artist’s Van- couver home. It took Kaplan four years to create Kaddish, which runs until Sunday at Presentation House Gallery. In the same way, she was discouraged throughout her travels _in Europe by the shocking lack of memorial to the Jews who died . Kaplan says the push is on to forget what happened during the war, to cover up the pogroms and the brutalities, “With the exception of cne museum in Berlin — the Topogra- phy of Terror — there is very little reminder of the Shoa (Hebrew word for Holocaust; literally, destruction). “In that museum you can see 500 yards of one cell after the other; you can see bits of tiling and plumbing, and you can just imagine Jews being takew there for questioning. But there’s been lots of pressure to have this place torn down for a mall.” About the only place one can find memorials is in the cemeter- ies, but they are slowly being van- dalized, starting with the Nazis’ destruction of Jewish gravestones for the building of roads. it was in a jewish cemetery in de reminder that there was a Jewish presence here, a strong, beautiful presence.” Perhaps even more important for her was the discovery that not all Poles are full of hatred toward Jews. “I met people in the cemetery who helped me with my work because they liked what | was do- ing. It made my realize that not all Polish people are anti-semitic. “tn'New York | met some American-Germans who were not anti-semitic. In fact one woman felt so bad about what happened that she converted to Judaism, she couldn’t bear it. “A lot of these people have problems with their parents, knowing what they did during the war. And | (her anger) feel soft- ened by the fact that there are people struggling with these issues and trying to make the world a better place.” Kaddish and Rescuers of the Holocaust runs until March 8. vy * NORTH SHORE LIGHT OPERA SOCIETY Pronedly Presents Gilbert & Sullivan OLANTHE Musical Comedy at Its Best — A Superb Satire Artistic Director: Dennis Kristos Musical Director: David Millard Choreography by: William Rose Centennial Theatre 23rd & Lonsdale, North Vancouver March 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 - 8:00 p.m. Matinee: March 22 - 2:00 p.m. Cail the Centennial Theatre Box Office ar 984-4484 23rd & Lonsdale, North Vancouver or Ticket Master at 280-3311 or call any cast member 985-388] Prices: Adult $11 Senior/Student $9 Age 12 & under $7 Tat a wad snr WRI? in. Cy i go aun eo @ V.' \ew) aay ey PORT OF VANCOUVER PHASE I It's a fast changing world out there. For Canada, that translates into new opportunities and increased competition. The Port of Vancouver is in business for Canada, and just like any other business, it has to be prepared to meet future challenges. PORT 2019 is a strategic plan for the Port of Vancouver, created te address these issues over the next 20 years. That means future development options - expanded facilities, new terminals and better services. It also means planning responsibly to ensure that the port is a good neighbour — responsive to our quality of life here in the — Lower Mainland. PORT 2010 is important to Canada — and it’s important to you. But before plans and procedures can be finalized, we need your input. YOU'RE INVITED! PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETINGS 7-9 p.m. Port Moody Kyle Centre Tuesday March 10 125 Kyle St. _ Vancouver Segal Centre Wednesday March 11 SFU, Harbour Centre __.515 Hastings St. 3rd Deck Lounge, Pacific Marine Training Institute 265 W. 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