Between Life and Death exhibition brings Holocaust rescue stories to Huddersfield

Posted By: KLTV Adminon: September 23, 2026In: Education & Training, News, The DEN

Reading Time: 3 minutes

By KLTV Newsdesk –

Holocaust Centre North to host international exhibition exploring courage, sacrifice and humanity during the Holocaust

Holocaust Centre North in Huddersfield is set to host an international exhibition exploring the stories of people who risked their lives to help persecuted Jews during the Holocaust.

Between Life and Death: Stories of Rescue during the Holocaust will be on display from 1 to 29 October 2026, giving visitors the opportunity to explore what it meant to choose humanity in a time of terror.

The exhibition is presented by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS) in partnership with Holocaust Centre North.

Stories of courage and survival

Between Life and Death pays tribute to people who, during the Second World War, chose to help persecuted Jews despite the threat of imprisonment, deportation or death.

Bringing together stories of rescuers and survivors from 15 European countries, the exhibition examines the complex relationships that developed under the extreme circumstances of war.

Each personal story is placed in its wider historical context, helping visitors understand the local conditions that shaped both opportunities for survival and individuals’ ability to help others.

Agnieszka Mazur-Olczak, coordinator of the project, said: “Between Life and Death is an exhibition that feels remarkably contemporary despite focusing on historical events.

“It reveals both the light and the dark sides of humanity through stories of people who found themselves in extreme situations – those struggling to save their own lives and those who chose to risk everything to help others.

“What is most important to me is that, wherever the exhibition travels, people tell us that although recounting difficult wartime experiences, it ultimately leaves them with a sense of hope.”

Personal stories at the heart of the exhibition

Among the stories featured is that of Eva Paddock (née Fleischmannová), who came to Britain from Czechoslovakia on a Kindertransport organised by Sir Nicholas Winton.

The exhibition also tells the story of Ida and Louise Cook, sisters from London who were opera enthusiasts and secretly helped smuggle valuables belonging to Jewish refugees across borders. They later supported refugees as they rebuilt their lives in Britain.

The sisters were recognised as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1964.

Holocaust Centre North to host exhibition’s only Northern venue

Holocaust Centre North is the only venue in the North of England to host the exhibition.

Hannah Randall, Head of Education at Holocaust Centre North, said: “We are very proud to be hosting Between Life and Death: Stories of Rescue during the Holocaust at Holocaust Centre North. We are the only venue to be doing so in the North of England.

“This exhibition from the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity echoes our commitment to telling the story of the Holocaust through personal stories.

“This exhibition will allow our visitors to understand a wide range of rescue efforts from across Europe, some of which helped our community in the North of England to survive the Holocaust.”

The exhibition has travelled across the world

Between Life and Death is a joint initiative of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and the Silent Heroes Memorial Centre in Berlin.

The exhibition was first presented at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels in January 2018 to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Since then, it has travelled to more than 20 cities across Europe, as well as venues in Japan and the United States. Earlier in 2026, it was presented at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The exhibition will now come to Huddersfield, where it will be available to visitors throughout October.