Shane Singh
Instructor: Alison Cimino
English
10/16/2016
The Fight for Survival: Identity and Home
The Jacket from Dacha that was worn by Benzion Peresecki during the holocaust which can
be viewed at the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center at QCC. For those
who does not know the history about the holocaust and “The Jacket from Dachau” and would
like to know more about this jacket they should surely visit the exhibit at Harriet and Kenneth
Kupferberg Resource Center. The holocaust is mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi
regime during the period 1941–45. More than 6 million European Jews, as well as members of
other persecuted groups, such as gypsies and homosexuals, were murdered at concentration
camps such as Auschwitz (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States
Holocaust Memorial Council, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2016). This exhibition have a lot to offer and
its beneficial to have an exhibit like this on campus which all student should visit and learn more
about the Holocaust and The jacket from Dachau. This exhibit offers videos, pictures,
magazines and the actual jacket Benzion Peresecki wore for ten months in Dachau and kept it for
65 years. The exhibit tells the story of Peresecki while he moved to the Siauliai ghetto, moving
to Dachau (Kaufering) and his migration to the US, as well as historic photos, maps, multiple
testimonies and short film.
Benzion Peresecki is a survivor of the Holocaust alongside his mother who migrated to the
United State. Benzion Peresecki surviving through the Holocaust came with an immense cost.
Peresecki’s father died from a stomach ulcer and his brother was killed by the Nazi. He was then
forced to live into a ghetto, imprisoned, beaten and forced to work hard labour at the Dachua
concentration camp. After the abolition Benzion and his mom who was also a survivor of the
Holocaust spent five years in a displaced person camp. After Benzion migrating to the United
States he fought to reestablish his identity, find honesty for his family suffering and to create a
new home. No matter where Benzion lived or where he moves he always kept his jacket from
Dachau. Benzion change his name Ben Peres after he migrated to the US. Ben’s jacket had been
found on July 4, 2015 which makes it 37 years after his death and 65 years since he kept the
jacket (Lane, Cary. "The Jacket from Dachau: One Survivor's Search for Justice, Identity, and
Home." Jacket from Dachau: One Survivor's Search for Justice, Identity, and Home 5 Oct. 2016:
1-39. Print).
Going to the exhibit instead of reading books or flicking through a magazine at home with
the history about the Holocaust and The Jacket from Dachau makes one understand the true
meaning behind all the photo, the jacket and the short film that was shown throughout the
exhibit. Most of the walls in the exhibit were covered with pictures, at the entrance there is a
huge picture of Peresecki and a brief about survivor of the holocaust and the jacket from Dachau.
The jacket was displayed in a glass case with brief history about him and his family was on the
walls. One of the most interesting thing was the history about the jacket which was show in the
video is the jacket had the identification number printed into it and had an inside pocket that was
clearly hand stitched later as a different thread was used. The stitching was uneven. The light
was mostly focused on the jacket which made it really stands out more than the pictures and the
videos. The color of the walls helps to play a mood of the room which made the pictures looked
more concrete.
One can get a sensation of the nature from all the picture that was on display he/she can feel
what Peresecki feels through the picture that was on display with brief notes of every event that
occur. There is a picture which stand out the most which can make one feels a sense of emotion
in Peresetski facial expression. The camera is focused on him sitting next to his mother at
Landsberg DP Camp Cicra in 1948, with dim lighting and the white background which play a
role in expressing the mood of the photo. The design of the area added to the exhibit it gave the
room some motion seeing that the picture cannot move. The room had varying paint on the wall
that contrasted with the color of the pictures. The pictures and the jacket were placed in a way to
grab the attention of the viewers.
It’s an interesting exhibit that did a good job of showcasing the Jacket from Dachau that was
found 37 years after Benzion death, brief history of Benzion Peresecki and his family. The
exhibit should have been bigger and had more to show. The Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg
Holocaust Resource Center is not a big place and they have other exhibit in the building so they
had to share the space. Student can surely learn a lot form the exhibit which could be beneficial
by viewing the short films, watching the picture, the brief history and collecting the magazine
that was free for everyone.
