Events

The Other Europe  –   Opening of the exhibition “Faces of Europe” in the European Parliament 

From 24 to 27 January 2023, the travelling exhibition Faces of Europe – Daughters remember their Mothers will be shown in the European Parliament in Brussels (Rue Wiertz 60, Spinelli Bar area 3D). The exhibition was jointly created by the Ravensbrück Memorial and the International Ravensbrück Committee and will be opened on 24 January at 13.00 h. Speakers include Ambra Laurenzi, President of the International Ravensbrück Committee, Dr Andrea Genest, Director of the Ravensbrück Memorial, and Ib Katznelson who was imprisoned at Ravensbrück as a child. 

Faces of Europe shows expressive large-format portraits of 27 women from 13 European countries, all of whom were imprisoned in Ravensbrück. Most of the photos were taken in the late 1940s and early 1950s and show the women in the context of their new life after imprisonment. 

In an accompanying brochure, which is available in seven languages, their children and grandchildren talk about the women portrayed, reflecting on their lives and the stories they used to tell. “This generational change is taking place at a time when Europe is confronted with the renewed flare-up of nationalism. New divisions are being created and boundaries are being drawn that are unsettling and hamper our exchange”, Ambra Laurenzi says. “With this exhibition, we want to focus on commonalities in the history of National Socialist persecution, thus inviting the nations of Europe to engage in dialogue.”

More than 120,000 women were imprisoned in Ravensbrück. A Europe under the influence of National Socialism held no place for women it persecuted for racial or political reasons.  As a result, “the other Europe” came together in Ravensbrück. The process of European understanding is a response to the experiences of the Second World War. It is this history that the exhibition commemorates.  

Visit the exhibition online

Venue

European Parliament

Rue Wiertz 60

1047 Bruxelles

Belgium