Residents in Hailsham are being urged to view an array of artwork created as part of the 75 Memorial Flames project to mark 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 1945.
The light that will never go out – Safe Now has been created by Craftyannies Home and members of the community in association with Sussex Community Development Association (SCDA). It’s all on display at the Wealden Council offices in Vicarage Lane from Friday 24 January until Tuesday 28 January.
Julie Hollister, Senior Project Assistant at SCDA Hailsham Community Hub said: “We were keen to give local people an opportunity to create an art piece to commemorate the 75th anniversary and have it displayed. The anniversary personally affects some members of our community and we hope that taking part in the project allows some helpful time to pause and reflect.”
Annie Crafter-Smith, of Craftyannies Home, explained: “We were inspired by the poems written by the children on the Thereisenstadt ghetto. These poems of hope were hidden by their school teacher, Friedl Dicker-Brandes. They were found after liberation. By then, most of the children and their teacher had been transported to Auschwitz, and died in the gas chambers. We see the flame in our artwork as a protective and positive force, and not one of destruction.”
“We have included children’s shoes to highlight their vulnerability. Poems and pictures by the children, and quotes from the Old Testament, are depicted as surviving within the flames, in the belief that they will one day return home.”
For Linda Greensmith, the event reminded her of the long-term effects a German labour camp had had on her father, Ludwick Wawrzwk. He was held as a Polish prisoner until escaping to fight with the 8th Army in Italy.
The light that will never go out – Safe Now has been created in response to a call by the Holocaust Memorial Trust for art work representing memorial flames to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Nationally 75 art works have been selected for an exhibition in London taking place on 27 January.
Holocaust Memorial Day this year will also mark the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia. As well as poems and information about the Thereisenstadt ghetto, Wealden’s Holocaust Memorial display also features photographs and information about other genocides which have taken place since 1945, and a short video of how the Holocaust has affected one local man’s family.
Craftyannies Home arts group is currently involved in a community project at the Community Allotment, established by SCDA at Battle Road allotments in Hailsham. Further information about Craftyannies Home and opportunities to run events and courses for the local community can be found at the Hailsham Community Hub, Sussex Community Development Association, based on North Street, Hailsham, email hailsham@sussexcommunity.org.uk or telephone 01323 440548.
Photo shows members of the art group who devised and created The light that will never go out – Safe Now: (left to right) Annie Crafter-Smith, Linda Greensmith, Cynthia Milam, Ryan Partidge, David Smith.
