LEST WE FORGET

A Holocaust remembrance project by Luigi Toscano

In partnership with the National WWI Museum and Memorial, Goethe Pop Up brings the international Holocaust remembrance project LEST WE FORGET to Kansas City as part of Wunderbar Together: Year of German-American Friendship. Opening on September 20th, this powerful outdoor installation from German-Italian photographer and filmmaker Luigi Toscano will be exhibited at the Memorial Courtyard at the National WWI Museum and Memorial for two weeks. The exhibition will be open to the public and on display 24 hours a day.

For LEST WE FORGET, Toscano visited and took portraits of almost 400 Holocaust survivors in the United States, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Belarus, Austria, and the Netherlands. These images are at the center of this unique photographic installation. Instead of exhibiting them in a museum or a gallery, Toscano always presents these large-scale photographs in public spaces where they remain accessible to everyone – regardless of age, origin, language, or education.

LEST WE FORGET is a testament to all survivors of the Holocaust. Each person’s story is unique but it also represents those whose voices can no longer be heard. Still, the project is much more than just a look back to our past. By remembering, we raise awareness of hatred and bigotry in society today.

LEST WE FORGET has been on view at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, the United Nations in New York City, Boston Common, and the San Francisco Civic Center, as well as at prominent outdoor sites in Europe. Over 1 million people worldwide have viewed the exhibition. The current installation features around 70 portraits of Holocaust survivors, seven of which were recently taken in Kansas City with support from the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.

The artist on LEST WE FORGET: “The portrayed survivors are the faces and voices of the culture of remembrance. They shared a lot with us and they encouraged us to spread their portraits and stories throughout the world. But LEST WE FORGET is much more than just looking back at our dark past: It urges everyone to confront the past in order to ensure that nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again.” – Luigi Toscano

Photo: © Luigi Toscano