Annual holocaust conference brings in art

The 29 Annual Holocaust Conference took place from April 1 to April 3. It started on Wednesday night with opening remarks from Dr. Saulius Suziedelis, professor of History at Millersville University. “What a dreary topic on a dreary day,” he said in reference to the rainy forecast and the chilly weather.

The Rabbi, Jack Paskoff, also presented a very brief speech and he said, “Sadly, we see that the number of survivors and liberators of the Holocaust reduce with each and every day. We are losing our living memory.”

This is a reference to those who survived the Nazi Holocaust and how the survivors of that Holocaust are dying. With them dies the brathing memory of the events that took place.

The Holocaust Conference was different this year compared to the past is because this time, it included the artistic and cinematic aspect of the holocaust.

An interesting lecture that I attended was scheduled on Thursday at 2 p.m. It was a lecture conducted by Hanna Song, curator at the War amd Women’s museum. ‘Comfort Women:’ the victims of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan and Representation of Trauma in the Paintings by the Victims’ was the name of her speech.

This lecture by Song was about women in Asian countries who were abducted by the Japanese to serve as prostitutes to soldiers during World War II.

It was a very heart-wrenching speech to listen to and very emotional as well.

Song showed a slide show of pictures and graphic images that depicted the suffering of women who were raped by Japanese soldiers. These women were taken away from their motherlands promised to give them jobs at factories, but instead they were taken to comfort homes.

They were so young, about 14 years old and forced to be raped by soldiers about 30 to 40 times per day. Sometimes up to 100 times during the weekends,” Song said.

The women were abused not only sexually, but physically, mentally and emotionally to the point of serious damage to their health. These ‘comfort women’ were expected to bring comfort to soldiers who were fighting in the war, but there was no one to comfort them in return.

The women who were raped were not paid, just raped. The Japanese Government has not yet admitted that their soldiers have done this injustice even today.

Due to this, every Wednesday, in memory of the calamity that took place more than 70 years ago, women gather in South Korea gather in front of the Japanese Embassy and protest.

The women who protest include those who were once ‘Comfort Women’ and others who support the cause of getting justice. “The women who were comfort women once still come to these protests even though they are ashamed of what happened to them, Song said. She further explained that they call them ‘Grandmothers’ as a nickname.

“When it’s raining, or really cold, or really hot, it is unbearable even for me to stand there protesting, but these grandmothers still come,” Song said.

Song went on to talk about how the ‘Comfort Women’ deal with their post-traumatic stresses from the rape, abuse, and the overbearing shame present in their lives.

“They draw and paint because most of the women cannot write, they have turned to art therapy,” Song said. “The women said that they can express more in painting than writing or speaking,” she continued.

Song said that most of the artwork represent the surroundings and atmosphere of the ‘Comfort Women’ as well as how they felt in situations of rape and physical abuse.

In some of the paintings Song showed the audience, ‘Comfort Women’ had painted their eyes black or put emphasis on eyes in some way. This is because the women know how others look at them and it is with blaming and judging eyes.

Hanna Song pointed out that many of the women who are so mentally damaged are slowly healing due to art therapy. It is very soothing and comforting for them to have an outlet to express how they feel. The artistic aspect of the Holocaust Conference added richness to it and attracted more people.