Trafford museum's new artwork for Holocaust Memorial Day (From Messenger Newspapers)

Trafford museum's new artwork for Holocaust Memorial Day

2:59pm Thursday 17th January 2013 in News By Rick Bowen

AS we prepare to mark one of the darkest chapters in history, the Imperial War Museum North has announced the unveiling of a major new artwork.

A Star Shell Stride, by Manchester-based artist Chava Rosenzweig will go on display on January 26 - the day before Holocaust Memorial Day.

The 36-year-old said the main piece features hundreds of porcelain stars - in the same shape as the Jewish Star of David - and Chava said the artwork took her nine months to create.

One of the stars, set aside from the main display, features the identification number worn by her grandmother Irena, when she was a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The same display case also features six dolls to signify the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and the destruction of childhood by the Holocaust.

Chava said she wants people viewing her creation to appreciate the far reaching impact of war.

She said: “I want people to question and ask themselves how long does it take to forget and how long does it take to forgive? What I’m also trying to show is when you choose to wear a symbol of religion it’s a symbol of pride and when you’re forced to wear it it’s a symbol of humiliation.”

Chava, who lives in Prestwich, said her grandmother survived the Holocaust and went on to marry an American army officer. The couple had five children.

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day the IWMN on Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, will also be showing previously unseen film footage and objects relating to the Holocaust from the collection at the Imperial War Museum.