If you are a lover of history, then you don’t want to miss an award-winning exhibition at the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre. The exhibition showcases photographs captured by perpetrators, victims and liberators in Auschwitz and runs until the end of March 2023. The Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre situated in 1 Duncombe Rd, Forest Town, and opened its doors to the award-winning exhibition Seeing Auschwitz to give the audience a the true dimension of the horrors committed by Nazi German.

Notable for its connections between genocide and contemporary human rights issues, the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre connects audiences from the outdoor space with a holistic coffee shop that honors all survivors of genocide, courage and kindness of all upstanders and rescuers.

The Holocaust & Genocide Centre allows visitors to immerse themselves in the history of genocide in the 20th century. 

“Bringing Seeing Auschwitz to the City of Johannesburg is a way of teaching the visitors about human behaviour and warning signs that people should recognise by reflecting on history to understand the world of today and also to humanize the victims instead of dehumanizing,” says Tali Nates, the founder and director of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre.

“The exhibition presents more than 100 images of victims and perpetrators, as well as snapshots of the systematic extermination process and scenes of everyday life in Auschwitz. 

“These are much more than just photographs and displaying portraits, they provide perspective and evidence of horrific murders in Auschwitz,” says Paul Salmons, the lead curator and one of the world’s experts on the holocaust.

“These photographs are not neutral sources at all: we are looking at a piece of reality but seen from the Nazi perspective and further making the victims audible and more visible. Seeing Auschwitz is designed to reach as many audience as possible to engage conversationally with visitors about concepts introduced by the exhibition,” Salmons adds.

The exhibition, which was created by Musealia and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, in association with the United Nations and UNESCO, has already grabbed the attention of many since November 2022 and will run until 2 April 2023. It opens from 9am to 4:30pm.