Norma Editorial publishes the story of a Holocaust survivor, Goodbye Birkenau
History is not just a record of what happened in the past or another topic, it is something that serves to remember what humans have done. When an individual makes a mistake or fails at something, that moment is recorded in his mind so that he does not make the same mistake again. The recording of human history should serve so that, as a collective, we do not make the same mistakes.
It is true that human beings are capable of doing wonderful things, but the past (and present) shows that they are also capable of carrying out the greatest abominations in the world. Acts that would deserve the extinction of our race. During Nazi Germany many, including Jews, were persecuted and imprisoned in concentration camps where many died and others were forced to work in inhumane conditions. One of these people was Ginette Kolinka, a Jew who ended up in the extermination camp. Auschwitz II – Birkenau. He survived.
Ginette went 50 years without talking about it, until she was filmed Holocaust Foundation (created by Steven Spielberg). To his surprise, all those repressed memories suddenly resurfaced and from that moment on he decided to no longer remain silent, to have to bear witness to what he had experienced so that such an event would not be forgotten or repeated. In 2020 he published Return to Birkenau, where he recounts these terrible events.
In the same year, at the age of 95, he admits artists Vittorio Matet Yes Jean-David Morvan They will take her to Polandto see the place where she had been locked up. After that he decided never to return. This is the story of this incredible woman who was brought to comics by these artists and now reaches our shelves thanks to Editorial standard.
Nazi barbarism
The beginning is from the point of view of the protagonist’s son, Ginette Kolinkathe dark years are over. The boy doesn’t quite understand why his mother has numbers tattooed on her arm and other mothers don’t, he didn’t know until he saw some photos of the concentration camps. The story changes quickly and we now follow Ginnette Kolinka in 2020, when she goes on an excursion with some school students to the concentration camp where she was imprisoned. Auschwitz II – Birkenau.
Through this journey through that prison, Ginnet Kolinka He tells the young people about his life from June 1942, when he still lived with his family Parisuntil his release from Auschwitz in 1945. Through that “excursion”, the protagonist talks about her experiences during the war and what she and many others went through.
The creative team of Goodbye Birkenau does an excellent job of conveying the horrors experienced Auschwitz. Jean-David Morvan (with the collaboration of Ginette Kolinka) perfectly explains how the ninety-year-old tells her life story to younger people, even going so far as to correct incorrect data in the public domain. Ricardo Efa, Cesc F. Dalmases and Roger Surroca It is the artists who provide enormous contrast by playing with colors, to show the past and present as well as the most difficult moments.
We are shown all the horrors they had to face, but also a matter of pure survival. The prisoners ended up dehumanizing each other, so that they remained impassive in the face of so much death, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. This feeling is successfully conveyed and it is still something horrible and shocking that will make more than one reader think when they finish reading this comic.
Perhaps the most shocking thing about this comic is the integrity with which Ginette Kolinka He tells young people everything he experienced in the concentration camps, sometimes even using humor. He doesn’t take anything away from the matter at any point, he knows what happened there and not that it should never happen again. It is another example of how human beings overcome such traumatic events that people who have not experienced such moments are unable to imagine. Perhaps this is why history, unfortunately, repeats itself.
Perhaps with the historical documents that many hate to study, we can alleviate what many consider inevitable, that history repeats itself. Perhaps this terrible repetition can be alleviated by remembering the lessons and teachings that our ancestors left us. In an ideal world, “it happens again” would never happen, but we live in a very imperfect world. This is why it is so important that people like Ginette Kolinka and these artists show the horrors of the past, so that future generations are aware of the terrible acts committed years ago, so that they are never repeated.
This comic is ideal for young people so they know the story, but also for adults or regular comic readers. The way it is narrated and its images are beautiful and it is still a compelling story.
Adios Birkenau’s edition of Norma Editorial
Goodbye, Birkenau comes to us in the usual format of the Franco-Belgian comic. A hardcover volume with a dimension of 23.3 x 31.2. A total of 112 high quality full color pages. In addition to the story itself, the comic includes a gallery full of newspaper clippings, documents and photos relating to Ms. Kolinka. The volume is on sale for €28.
“Goodbye, Birkenau” is the story of a Holocaust survivor turned into a comic. Without wanting to soften anything, everything that Ginette Kolinka suffered in Auschwitz is told. With such a surprising way of telling and with an interesting visual section, it is a comic that affects all readers, but especially the little ones, so that they know what happened in that place, so that it never happens again.
Author: Ginette Kolinka | Jean-David Morvan | Victor Matet | Ricardo Efa | Cesc F. Dalmases | Ruggero Surroca
Editorial: Editorial standard
Format: Hard cover
Measure: 23.3 x 31.2 cm
Pages: 112 color pages
Price: €28.00
ISBN: 978-84-679-7211-5
Synopsis: THE PRECIOUS TESTIMONY OF A SURVIVOR OF NAZI BARBARITY
In April 1944, at the age of 19, Ginette Kolinka was deported to the Auschwitz II – Birkenau extermination camp. He didn’t talk about it for fifty years, until he agreed to be filmed for the Shoah Foundation, newly created by Steven Spielberg. To the seventy-year-old’s surprise, repressed memories emerged. Since then he has dedicated his life to testifying to what he experienced. In October 2020, at the age of 95, she allowed Victor Matet and Jean-David Morvan to accompany her on one of her trips to Poland, after which she decided never to return.
This poignant album illustrated with respect and mastery by Efa, Cesc and Roger, recreates the journey between her first and last time in the “largest cemetery in the world” with that unique mix of fortitude, humor and optimism that characterizes.
