French filmmaker donates shirt worn by inmate at Nazi concentration camp to Holocaust Center in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture
Aug. 20, 2014
by Kana Kobayashi, Staff Writer
François Ouzan, 36, a French filmmaker, visited the Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, on August 12 and donated a shirt that is believed to have been worn by a person held prisoner at one of the Nazi concentration camps. The center will begin displaying the uniform next month and will lend it to organizations around the country on request.
The shirt is 70 centimeters long and 130 centimeters wide, including the sleeves. It has vertical blue and white stripes and five button holes. The fabric is frayed and there is a hole at the left chest.
The shirt was found at a market in France. It was sent to Mr. Ouzan through a French charitable organization. The material and size of the shirt indicate that it was worn by a female or a child.
Mr. Ouzan empathizes with Makoto Otsuka, the director of the center, who is dedicated to passing down the history of the Holocaust, a genocide against the Jewish people by the Nazis. In 2006, Mr. Ouzan filmed a documentary which featured Mr. Otsuka. The 50-minute film was shown on France’s state-run broadcasting channel and screened at international film festivals.
The Holocaust Education Center holds a collection of more than 300 items related to the Holocaust, but it is difficult to collect the personal effects of victims. About 60 people attended the donation ceremony held at the center. Mr. Otsuka said, “I will reach out to as many people as possible and call for peace through this shirt.” Mr. Ouzan said, “I hope people will look at this shirt and imagine who was wearing it.”
(Originally published on August 13, 2014)
François Ouzan, 36, a French filmmaker, visited the Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, on August 12 and donated a shirt that is believed to have been worn by a person held prisoner at one of the Nazi concentration camps. The center will begin displaying the uniform next month and will lend it to organizations around the country on request.
The shirt is 70 centimeters long and 130 centimeters wide, including the sleeves. It has vertical blue and white stripes and five button holes. The fabric is frayed and there is a hole at the left chest.
The shirt was found at a market in France. It was sent to Mr. Ouzan through a French charitable organization. The material and size of the shirt indicate that it was worn by a female or a child.
Mr. Ouzan empathizes with Makoto Otsuka, the director of the center, who is dedicated to passing down the history of the Holocaust, a genocide against the Jewish people by the Nazis. In 2006, Mr. Ouzan filmed a documentary which featured Mr. Otsuka. The 50-minute film was shown on France’s state-run broadcasting channel and screened at international film festivals.
The Holocaust Education Center holds a collection of more than 300 items related to the Holocaust, but it is difficult to collect the personal effects of victims. About 60 people attended the donation ceremony held at the center. Mr. Otsuka said, “I will reach out to as many people as possible and call for peace through this shirt.” Mr. Ouzan said, “I hope people will look at this shirt and imagine who was wearing it.”
(Originally published on August 13, 2014)
