Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies
Welcome to the collections database of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Explore our approximately 7,000 records, including digitized artwork and photographs, oral histories, film, music, materials from the Center’s prior exhibitions, and more.
Portraying Memories: Portraits & Conversations with Survivors of the Shoah
In February 2013, Felix de la Concha, a prominent Spanish artist, collaborated with CHGS to include Twin Cities Holocaust survivors in his latest portrait series, Portraying Memories: Portraits and Conversations with Survivors of the Shoah. De la Concha painted survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust) from all over the world. While posing, his subjects talked about their lives and shared their testimonies of survival. These sessions were recorded and depict the portraits transformation from a blank canvas to the finished piece; providing the viewer with a powerful and emotionally charged, multidimensional representation of the encounter with his sitters. Eight local survivors participated in the project; their portraits and testimony appear on the CHGS YouTube channel along with the 31 other survivors who sat with De la Concha between 2007 and 2013. The entire project can be viewed by clicking here.
Voice to Vision
The Voice to Vision collaborative project, founded by University of Minnesota art professor David Feinberg, captures the extraordinary experiences of genocide survivors from different parts of the world. The stories of the survivors are first shared through dialogue, and then transformed into works of visual art that display painting, drawing, collage, and mixed media. Each art piece has been created through collaboration with a team of artists and genocide survivors. As the survivors share their experiences, members of the collaborative team exchange ideas and make creative decisions together to produce a work of art that reflects the convergence of each voice involved in the project.
Armenian Genocide
Containing media from the time of the Armenian genocide (1915-1920) and from the 1940’s, this collection includes relief posters, editorial cartoons, and Minnesota newspaper articles about the Armenian genocide.
CHGS Past Exhibitions
F
ind images, artists, and pieces that have been part of important CHGS exhibitions from the past, including Witness & Legacy, Absence/Presence, and Coexistence.
CHGS Physical Collections
Our collections have been exhibited throughout the United States over our 20 year history. Sharing our art, artifacts, and visual testimony allows us to extend our impact beyond our campus and community. We are seeking collaborations and venues to display our works. Contact us for more information at 612-624-9007 or by email.
CHGS Book and Video Library
Feinstein Digital Gallery
Named for CHGS founding director Stephen Feinstein, with a vision to explore and to challenge viewers. This collection contains art representing a variety of responses to the Holocaust, other genocides, mass violence, refugees and migration.
Artists Represented: Samuel Bak, Saul Balagura, Joseph Bau, Israel Bernbaum, Vivian Bower, Daisy Brand, Alice Lok Cahana, Elvire Coriat de Baere, Pete Driessen, Robert O. Fisch, Toby Knobel Flueck, David Friedmann, Aharon Gluska, Fay Grajower, Grace Graupe-Pillard, Wolfgang Hergeth, Edward Hillel, Fritz Hirschberger, Marty Kalb, Boris Kobe, Jordan Krimstein, Gerson Leiber, Eli Leskey, Judith Liberman, Esther Lurie, Carolyn H. Manosevitz, Haim Maor, Betty Mittleman, Aaron Morgan, Susi Rosenberg, David Schwab, Shelomo Selinger, Johannes Steyer, Josef Szajna, Susan May Tell, Cy Thao, Apo Torosyan, Arnold Trachtman, Szombathi Zoltan.
Holocaust and Genocide Memorials
Photographs and documents relating to memorials to the Holocaust, genocides, and related events, from many countries in Europe and elsewhere.
Minnesota and the Holocaust: Survivors, Witnesses, Liberators
Visual and oral testimony, documents, and photographs from survivors, liberators, and witnesses who made Minnesota their home.
Numismatic and Philatelic Artifacts
Stamps, money, postcards, and commemorative covers relating to the Holocaust and WWII.
Visualizing Otherness: Racism and Antisemitism in Popular Media
Images and artifacts that perpetuate stereotypes and racial beliefs which discriminate against targeted groups of people. Includes propaganda, toys, books, and other documents.
WWII Histories, Narratives, Artifacts, and Evidence
Personal narratives, documents and other material relating to life during the Holocaust.
ABOUT: Since its founding in 1997 by Professor Stephen Feinstein, CHGS has collected primary sources that provide faculty, students, K12 educators, and members of the general public with unique access points to Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Under the current CHGS director, Professor Alejandro Baer, the Center has commissioned additional artwork and collections, including portraits of Holocaust survivors by Felix de la Concha. Center staff, including Jodi Elowitz, Jennifer Hammer, Taylor Johnson, Dana Queen, Olivia Sailer, Demetrios Vital, and Meyer Weinshel have managed the various holdings, and continue to migrate the content to new, more accessible platforms.
To ensure the materials’ continued use, CHGS currently makes its collections available on Elevator. Our Collections content has also appeared in on- and off-campus exhibitions, education materials, blog articles, and on social media. Please contact us directly if you have questions about access, item descriptions, or general inquiries about the center’s holdings. Select items are also in the center’s physical collection, and available for loan. Please contact the Center at 612-624-9007 or chgs@umn.edu for more information.