Theme: Children
Children were, perhaps, the most common visual symbol of Displaced Persons and Nazi victims in the aftermath of the war.
The attention given to
children at that time far outweighed the number of children that survived Nazi
oppression and fueled unsustainable interest in adoption, orphanages, and child-specific aid.
The consistent use of
images of children in fundraising and philanthropic publicity materials
suggests that they served as powerful figures of survival that provoked
compassion and action from American donors.
Given this public attention, it is not surprising that American Jewish communal groups, and American humanitarian efforts more generally, focused their efforts on aiding children. Americans participated in letter writing campaigns, clothing collections, and fundraising drives that featured children as the primary visual symbols.
As the materials in this exhibit reveal, representations of children were often employed to motivate action without revealing the whole story.
The attention given to
children at that time far outweighed the number of children that survived Nazi
oppression and fueled unsustainable interest in adoption, orphanages, and child-specific aid.
The consistent use of
images of children in fundraising and philanthropic publicity materials
suggests that they served as powerful figures of survival that provoked
compassion and action from American donors.
Given this public attention, it is not surprising that American Jewish communal groups, and American humanitarian efforts more generally, focused their efforts on aiding children. Americans participated in letter writing campaigns, clothing collections, and fundraising drives that featured children as the primary visual symbols.
As the materials in this exhibit reveal, representations of children were often employed to motivate action without revealing the whole story.
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