The Gurs Haggadah: Passover in Perdition

Facsimile edition of a handwritten Passover Haggadah from the Gurs detention camp, where Jewish prisoners celebrated the Festival of Freedom behind barbed wire. Mortality was extremely high under inhuman conditions of freezing cold, quicksand, poor food and barracks that hardly provided shelter. In the summer of 1942, most of the inmates were transported to Drancy and from there to Auschwitz. “The Haggadah as written with paintings by various painters incarcerated in the camp… photographs and short notes, all emphasizing the concern of the imprisoned community leaders were with culture and religion…” [Ruth Almog, Ha’aretz] “Collective memories of a detention camp combines historical research with personal memories… Includes comprehensive history of the camp. Despite overcrowding, separation of families, constant hunger, illnesses and daily deaths, the inmates kept their humanity, among others by maintaining an orchestra, theatre, and keeping Jewish tradition.” [Shulamit Geva, Ma’ariv] “This Haggadah should be reproduced and its history made known: it is witness to the intensity of religious life during the Shoah in certain camps. Should be read on Passover and at any time.” [Tzafon, 48]