While the Holocaust is remembered rightly as an act of genocide against Europe’s Jewish population, the Nazis also sent close to 250,000 people with disabilities to their deaths.
This grim fact is highlighted by Winchester’s Blue Apple Theatre, whose performers have learning disabilities and have been making a short documentary to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January).
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Blue Apple, artists in residence at the University of Winchester, have been helped by students and staff at the University.
Theatre members recorded voice-overs for the film at the University studios and two third year Film Production students, Hope Lines and Vasili Evangelou, have been editing the documentary.
Historical images have been sourced from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the German Federal Archive and site images from Ken Parry. All other images have been provided by performers at Blue Apple and other similar organisations in the UK and Europe.
Shocking images of the concentration camps are contrasted with modern ones demonstrating that many people learning disabilities today live rich and rewarding lives.
“It is important to acknowledge this terrible time from history and to remember but we must also recognise that we have moved on,” said Richard Conlon, Blue Apple’s Artistic Director.
“We live in much more enlightened times but we shouldn’t assume that will always be the case and we must remain vigilant.”
The film, simply entitled Blue Apple Holocaust Memorial Project, will be sent out to the group’s network of sister organisations across Europe, including Poland the Czech Republic and Belgium – nations which were directly affected by the Holocaust.
“Despite being a small, Winchester-based arts charity, we’re actually engaged in a sort of ongoing international debate about the role of people with a learning disability in civic life,” added Richard.
“Our performers and participants know that those who went before them had bigger challenges to face, but the journey isn’t over. We’ve had conversations about how we can’t take all recent advances for granted – they may not stay forever unless we actively advocate for them.”
The film is available as an unlisted video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/rcSqkOz0FK0 and to find out more about Blue Apple Theatre visit https://blueappletheatre.com/
Photo: Members of Blue Apple Theatre who helped make the documentary watch the editing process with University of Winchester Film Production students Hope Lines and Vasili Evangelou (seated) at the University's Multi Media Centre
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