"End of Testimony?"
Elie Wiesel: “I keep imagining that in a few years’ time, we will find the last survivor.”
Jorge Semprún: “This is an obsessive thought. […] I imagine a TV crew arriving and stating: Sir, Madam, you are the last survivor. What does this person do? Commit suicide.”
Elie Wiesel: “No, I rather imagine that he will be asked questions, all the questions in the world. Really all of them. And he will listen to the questions. And then, he will shrug his shoulders. They will ask him: Well? And he will remain silent. A fertile silence, mind you. The last one. I don’t wish to be the last survivor.”
Jorge Semprún: “Neither do I.”
Already in 1995, concentration camps survivors Elie Wiesel and Jorge Semprún discuss the issue of the last contemporary witnesses. 25 years later, Flossenbürg Memorial and Jewish Museum Hohenems face the varied history of contemporary witnessing and its diverse expressions with the exhibition "End of Testimony?".
We have made parts of the exhibition accessible online so that you still can explore the exhibition, despite the temporary closure due to the coronavirus.
In cooperation with the Jewish Museum Hohenems, Flossenbürg Memorial examines the history of contemporary witnessing, the complex relations between contemporary witnesses and society, and their role since 1945. The multimedia exhibition focuses on the survivors and their stories, which are subject to their own rules of dramaturgy and communication and are preserved in numerous videotaped interviews. But we also ask under what conditions the interviews were created and how we want to deal with them in the future.
Credits
End of Testimony?
September 25, 2020 - June 6, 2021
An exhibition of Flossenbürg Memorial and Jewish Museum Hohenems, funded by the Foundation „Remembrance, Responsibility and Future“ (EVZ).
Projektleitung, Kuratorin | Project Lead, curator:
Anika Reichwald (Hohenems)
Ko-KuratorInnen | Co-curators:
Johannes Lauer, Julius Scharnetzky, Christa Schikorra, Jörg Skriebeleit (Flossenbürg);
Miriam Bürer, Hanno Loewy (Hohenems)
Wissenschaftliche Recherche | Scientific research:
Matthew Rosenblatt, Annika Scharnagl (Flossenbürg);
Orsolaya Bodony, Franziska Völlner, Fabian Wimmer (Hohenems)
Ausstellungsgestaltung, Design | Exhibition design:
Roland Stecher, atelier stecher (Götzis)
Ausstellungsgrafik | Graphic design:
Thomas Matt, atelier stecher (Götzis)
Archiv und Objektbetreuung | Archive:
Annabelle Lienhart (Flossenbürg)
Übersetzung | Translation:
Lilian Dombrowski (Ra‘anana)
Ausstellungsaufbau | Installation:
Technische Abteilung der KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg
AV-Technik | AV installation:
Dietmar Pfanner (Andelsbuch)
AV-Bearbeitung | AV editing:
Milan Loewy (Wien)
Glasarbeiten | Glass works:
Längle Glas-System GmbH (Götzis)
Acrylarbeiten | Acryl works:
blenke design (Hohenems)
Metallarbeiten | Metal works:
Heinz Duwe Schlossmeister (Mäder)
Holzbau | Wooden works:
Raidl GmbH Tischlerei (Mäder), Schreinerei Preisinger (Flossenbürg)
Beschriftung und Drucke | Foil cutting and printing:
Elograph (Götzis), Regler Druckzentrum GmbH (Altenstadt)
Formteile | Mouldings:
Gunz CNC Fertigung (Dornbirn)
Malerarbeiten | Paint works:
Schreinerei Preisinger (Flossenbürg)
Drucksorten | Printing matters:
Thurnher Druckerei GmbH (Rankweil)
Diese Ausstellung wurde großzügig gefördert durch | This exhibition was generously sponsored by
Stiftung „Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft“ (EVZ)
Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien
Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Unterricht und Kultus
Nationalfonds der Republik Österreich für Opfer des Nationalsozialismus, Wien
Collini, Hohenems
Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich, Wien
Stadt Hohenems
Vorarlberger Landesregierung, Kultur
Verein zur Förderung des Jüdischen Museums Hohenems
Bundeskanzleramt | Kunst und Kultur, Wien