The worlds of digital content and real objects have collided
The National Holocaust Centre and Museum, UK
Leon Greenman OBE was the only Englishman to be imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp. During the Holocaust, he endured numerous camps and a 60 mile death march. Leon lost his wife and young son during the Holocaust. He vowed that should he survive he would dedicate his life to ensuring such events would never happen again.
‘Greenman changed people's lives with his words. For him, the camps and the fight against racism was not a history lesson but rather a battle for today to prevent a repeat of history.’ - The Independent
The Leon Greenman Gallery at the National Holocaust Centre not only honours and commemorates his many years of dedication to Holocaust education, but hopes to continue it. In the Gallery we are introduced to Leon’s story, the powerful lessons he drew from his experience and his determination to share these lessons with the world.
At the centre of the gallery is a Collidercase containing five individual stones. The viewer hears an audio recording of Leon from a 1945 interview describing his ordeal. Glass then appears to shatter in slow-motion within the case, visually referencing an appalling act of violence experienced by Leon almost 50 years later.
In 1994 a brick was thrown through the window of his home in London, and minutes later, a message was left at the local paper threatening his life. Undeterred in his fight against racism, Leon kept the brick. It is displayed alongside pebbles he subsequently collected from each of the camps in which he was imprisoned - stones he invited into his home, and stones he did not. These objects are presented in the Collidercase and their significance and symbolism sensitively expressed through the digital interpretation.