Hidden

During the Holocaust, many Jewish families were forced to hide to survive the persecution and genocide carried out by the Nazis. Some survived on their own; others survived with the help of “righteous rescuers” or “righteous among the nations.” The Righteous Among the Nations are non-Jewish individuals honored by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, for risking their lives to aid Jews during the Holocaust. Some survived the war and were reunited with their families, while others were not so fortunate and were captured and killed. The stories of these hidden Jews serve as a powerful reminder of the human capacity for resilience and courage in the face of unimaginable horror.

Hidden 1—Otto Wolf’s Story

Otto Wolf and his family went into hiding in the forest of a small Moravian town called Tršice in occupied Czechoslovakia. In the summer of 1942, the Wolf family was ordered to report to a nearby city for deportation, but they chose not to do so. With the help of a family friend named Slávek, who was in love with Otto’s older sister Felicitas (known as Lici), they lived in shelters built in the woods near the town. Over the next three years, the family moved from various shelters in the forest to the homes of acquaintances as each location became dangerous. Otto kept a diary throughout this period.

Hidden 2—Bielski Family

The Bielski family lived in the forests of Belarus. The Bielskis, led by brothers Tuvia, Asael, and Alexander, created a community of Jewish refugees in the woods, where they built bunkers and dugouts to hide from the Nazis. They also set up a system to provide for and protect the other Jews who joined them in hiding. The Bielskis and their community managed to survive the war and are remembered as heroes for their efforts to save Jewish lives during one of the darkest periods in history.

This is an ongoing project I care deeply about. Because this is such a complex subject, I have decided to approach it in a style that is a hybrid between abstract and representational.

If you have a “Hidden” story you wish to share with me, please get in touch with me at carol@carolneiger.com