On January 28, 2016, Friends of Slovakia co-sponsored the opening of an exhibition of unique photos commemorating the Holocaust entitled “Last Folio”. The opening event was held at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. in cooperation with the Embassy of Slovakia and the Embassy of Canada. The exhibit is open to the public until April 1, 2016.
The creator of the exhibit, Yuri Dojc, is a Slovak/Canadian photographer. He discovered that there were long-abandoned buildings and synagogues in Eastern Slovakia that contained artifacts from the period when Jews were deported from Slovakia during the Holocaust. The buildings had been largely undisturbed since WWII and he set about to document this find as an act of remembrance. The exhibit contains photos of the abandoned artifacts, such as the disintegrating books left on the shelves of a Jewish school. Mr. Dojc also pursued contacts with the few remaining Holocaust survivors who lived in Slovakia at the time. Their photos are also included in the exhibit.
Mr. Dojc also compiled a film documentary of the project, with Director Katya Kraus, which was shown at the Slovak Embassy on Jan. 26. A shorter excerpt from this documentary is also a part of the photo exhibit at the Wilson Center. We hope to provide information when the documentary film becomes available for further viewing. FOS urges anyone living in or visiting the D.C.-area to stop by this unique exhibit that documents a dark period in Slovak history, but at the same time, inspires through the power of remembrance.