Exhibit at NY Holocaust museum shows how Jews tried to ‘speak through history’ by hiding items in death camps

A new exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, titled "Will These Words Reach You?", highlights a lesser-known form of Holocaust resistance: the clandestine Oneg Shabbat archive from the Warsaw Ghetto. This exhibition, on view until February 14, focuses on the efforts of Jews to maintain cultural and religious traditions and document their experiences under Nazi occupation. Emanuel Ringelblum, a Polish Jewish historian, led the network that secretly collected nearly 35,000 documents, including diaries, testimonies, and artwork, between 1940 and 1943. These materials were buried in the ghetto, with the first cache discovered 80 years ago on September 18, 1946. Sara J. Bloomfield, director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, stated, "One of the least appreciated forms of resistance are the efforts by Jews to maintain cultural and religious traditions while under sustained, brutal assault." Tamar Rabinowitz, senior curator at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, emphasized the importance of this archive in allowing victims to "speak directly to new generations through their secret archive." The exhibit includes original artifacts, such as one of the metal boxes used to hide the documents, showcasing the "incredible bravery" and foresight of those who created and preserved this invaluable record.