Barnet to Host International Holocaust Exhibition: Stories of Rescue

What does it take to choose humanity in a time of terror? How far would you go to help someone in danger? And what can the choices made by ordinary people during the Holocaust teach us today?

From 2 November to 14 December 2026, residents of Barnet and visitors to the borough will have the opportunity to explore these questions through Between Life and Death: Stories of Rescue during the Holocaust, an international exhibition presented by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS) and Barnet Council at Chipping Barnet Library.

Between Life and Death pays tribute to those who, during the Second World War, chose to help persecuted Jews in the face of the threat of imprisonment, deportation or death. By bringing together the stories of rescuers and survivors from fifteen European countries, the exhibition highlights the complexity of human relationships under the extreme circumstances of war while placing each account within its broader historical context. This approach enables visitors to better understand the local conditions that shaped both the possibilities for survival and the opportunities to offer assistance.

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

Cllr Anne Clarke, Barnet Council Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Arts and Sports, said: “These stories of rescue and survival encourage us to reflect on the importance of standing up to hatred and prejudice, and I encourage residents and visitors to take the opportunity to visit and learn from them."

Stories of courage, Kindertransport and international solidarity

Among the many stories presented in the exhibition are those of Eva Paddock and sister Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines (née Fleischmannová), who arrived in Britain from Czechoslovakia on a Kindertransport organised by Sir Nicholas Winton, and sisters Ida and Louise Cook. Opera enthusiasts from London, the Cook sisters secretly smuggled Jewish refugees' valuables across borders and later assisted them in rebuilding their lives in Britain. They were recognised as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1964.

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 twenty cities across Europe, as well as Japan and the United States. Earlier this year, it was presented at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Between Life & Death: Stories of Rescue During the Holocaust exhibition is FREE to visit from 2 November to 14 December during the standard opening hours of Chipping Barnet Library: Monday-Friday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Saturday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.