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AUGUSTA — The latest exhibit at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine will feature a collection of the artifacts that have been given to the HHRC over the years and compiled in a way that tells the story of the years leading up to the Holocaust through liberation.
“Our Stories Have to Be Told: HHRC Artifacts from the Holocaust” brings together a powerful collection of items that have been donated or loaned to the HHRC over the years.
The title comes from a quote by Holocaust survivor Jerry Slivka, who died in 2013 at the age of 98. He is one of several survivors whose quotes and reflections are included in the exhibit.
Slivka was born in the Ukraine, but his village was destroyed during World War I. The family moved to the Jewish section of another town nearby, Povursk. When Hitler came to power, Slivkay was out of school and moved to Lodz, Poland. He worked making sweaters and then returned to Povursk in 1937. Four years later, he was drafted into the Soviet army. During his service, he lost contact with his family.
In 1943, Slivka was sent to a work camp in Siberia, where he remained until the end of the war. At that time, the Soviet Union had an agreement that those who were Polish citizens before 1939 could go back to Poland. Slivka qualified, submitted his application, and a year later returned to Poland. He learned that his parents, sister and one brother had been killed. Jerry was able to find his surviving brother and the two traveled to Italy before arriving to the U.S. in 1948. Soon after, he met and married his wife Rochelle. The couple moved to Maine and helped found the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine.
At the time of his death, he was survived by two daughters, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
“Our Stories Have to Be Told: HHRC Artifacts from the Holocaust,” will be open through Sept. 13. The HHRC, located at the Michael Klahr Center on the campus of the University of Maine at Augusta is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Monday through Friday, and on weekends and evenings by appointment.
For more information about the exhibit, contact David Greenham at David.greenham@maine.edu or 207-621-3531.
PHOTO: Michael Klahr Center on the UMA campus. (Maureen Milliken photo)
