Skip to 0 minutes and 22 seconds Photos are like a window to the past. In my job, I work with images that bring us close to some of the worst crimes in human history, the Holocaust, for example. These are images of the deportations, the ghettos, the camps. They are evidence of some of the greatest crimes against humanity. But photos also show us those who suffered and were lost forever. 6 million Jewish people alone were murdered during the Holocaust, but their faces, their life before Nazism, is recorded by the camera.
Skip to 1 minute and 0 seconds But through whose eyes are we seeing this past? This course will tackle the problem that the photos we use to imagine and learn about the Holocaust today were mostly taken by the perpetrators. What does it mean if a Nazi propaganda photographer held the camera? Can we trust such evidence, and how might the picture change if we look at this history through the photos taken by the victims instead. [TRAIN HORN BLOWING]
Skip to 1 minute and 33 seconds Seeing a photo is always subjective. Our different experiences and identities affect how we view images. That’s why we’re so excited to be going on this journey with you. We are a team of academics from the University of Nottingham and staff from the National Holocaust Centre and Museum. In this course, we will be sharing our insights with you on photography. But we’re also really eager to hear about your views and responses through the course and to discuss these with you. Join us on this visual journey into the past.
Skip to 2 minutes and 9 seconds But it leads us back to the present– photos of victims on our television screens and on social media every day, the body of the dead child, Alan Kurdi, on the beach, photos of the plight of the people of Yemen, Sudan, or Syria, or the children in the cages at the US-Mexican borders. Photographing the Holocaust will help you hone your visual literacy and orientate yourself in a world that is flooded by images. But we also want to learn from you. Your opinions really matter and will help us do better work on your behalf. Sign up today. Join the discussions. We look forward to meeting you very soon.
