Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross

Memory Unearthed - A backlit photo of Ross unearthing the box of negatives that he had buried as “some record of our tragedy.” The photo is paired with a projection of some of Ross’ recovered images as well as the photographer’s own words.

We were honored to design this traveling exhibition’s first presentation at a Holocaust museum. Trapped in the Lodz Ghetto, Henryk Ross defied the Nazis and risked his life to illegally photograph the true, horrific conditions in which Jewish people struggled to survive. When he thought he might be sent to his death, Ross buried his work so that future generations might discover the truth about the ghetto. Fortunately, Ross survived, as did most of the photographic negatives. This exhibition prominently featured Ross’s story and his photographs—including as large backlit fabric prints—alongside video, artifacts, and testimonies that gave voice to Holocaust history. 

Curator: Maia-Mari Sutnik

  • Categories
  • European History
  • Exhibitions
  • Museums
  • Photography
  • Social Issues
  • World History
  • Z Museum of Jewish Heritage
Memory Unearthed Exhibition - For the entrance to Memory Unearthed, Pure+Applied used an image of a deteriorated film cell that was found with Henryk Ross’ other surviving film.
Memory Unearthed - To complete his mandated work for the Lodz Ghetto administration, Ross built a structure that allowed him to take 12 portraits at once. This way, he secretly saved film and used it to document conditions.
Memory Unearthed - Case displaying artifacts from MJH collections—including Lodz Ghetto ID cards—with a Ross photo that shows the ruins of a destroyed synagogue within the Lodz Ghetto perimeter.
Memory Unearthed - P+A implemented angles throughout the space to signify movement, violence, and the severed triangles of the Star of David.
Resistance comes in many forms. Confined to the Nazi-run ghetto in Lodz, Poland, from 1940 to 1945, the Polish Jewish photojournalist Henryk Ross wielded not a gun but a camera.

The Jewish Week

Memory Unearthed - Large scale, back-lit photos flank a free-standing central structure that houses a small theater.
Memory Unearthed - Two visitors view the the “theater” space where visitors could watch him speak about the tragedy he had witnessed.
Memory Unearthed - Ross assembled these double-sided contact sheets into a document that he called his “portfolio.
Memory Unearthed - A closer view: Ross assembled these double-sided contact sheets into a document that he called his “portfolio.
Memory Unearthed - An angled wall displays portraits by Ross, acknowledging the humanity of the people trapped in the Lodz Ghetto. Most of the people pictured here remain unidentified; these photos are among the last traces of their lives.
Memory Unearthed - On the opposite side of a triangular wall displaying photographs, P+A implemented listening stations so that visitors could hear recorded testimony from survivors of the Lodz Ghetto.
Pure+Applied designed the Memory Unearthed exhibition guide.
Pure+Applied designed the Memory Unearthed exhibition guide.
Pure+Applied designed the Memory Unearthed exhibition guide.
Pure+Applied designed the Memory Unearthed exhibition guide.

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