Holocaust Memorial Day - Ernest Levy Archive images

Ernest Levy, the subject of the Central Library’s current exhibition, survived the holocaust, moved to Scotland and spent the majority of his life sharing his story in a bid to promote tolerance and understanding. The Ernest Levy archive was donated to the Edinburgh City Council after his death in 2010, with the intention that it will allow his mission to be continued. This exhibition exists as part of the Holocaust Memorial Day 2012 campaign “Speak up, Speak out,” and is to be the first of many.

The current exhibition uses photographs and a small selection of physical objects to recount Ernest’s story. It follows his experience of the war: his forced move to Budapest, his time in Auschwitz and then other subsequent labour camps. He experienced abuse, humiliation and terror. The focus on an individual story really highlights the horrors of the Holocaust, that one person could experience so many hideous experiences, including repeated beatings, being brutally shaved and disinfected and falling into a mass grave. The clear and engaging text is interspersed with family photos of both survivors and victims, and some distressing images of the prisoners in the camps and the mass graves. It tells the inspiring story of Ernest himself as well as some of the German prison guards who risked their own lives in an attempt to help him.

In the city library, a place of education and reflection, this small exhibition is an opportunity to learn more about these traumatic events and take the message with you to always speak up and out in the face of prejudice.