"When They Came To Take My Father": 20th Century Literature

On December 13th, the 20th Century Lit. class went to see the photo gallery "When They Came To Take My Father" by Rolling Stones photographer, Mark Seliger, focused on the Holocaust. The  gallery includes 22 black and white portraits that display “a brutal honesty, bringing to light the horrific and dark memories that the survivors must carry with them”. Mark Seliger’s words and pictures convey a testimony from a people who have suffered in an event that will not be forgotten. Each of the portraits portray a Holocaust survivor and each tell a different story of the Holocaust. Quotes of the survivors  are also displayed with the portraits, including the quote: “ When they came to take my father it was the fear of the unknown. Would he ever be back?” This is what the gallery was named after. The quotes give a deeper understanding of Holocaust. As one survivor wrote, “ In every generation we have a little Holocaust somewhere going on. In some way we are all survivors of a Holocaust. You, me and everybody.”

-- Gabe Modder