How do Artifacts Relate to our History and Perseverance?

(TCU) - Memoirs are exactly what their root word indicates, memories. Memoirs are real life events either told in first person or told by someone close by that is hearing information from the person going through the situation. Memoirs are a recollection of past events that someone has gone through personally. In ‘The Objects That Remain’ by Laura Levitt, she has written about events in her personal life, events in other people’s personal lives, and compared them with artifacts from the Holocaust to show how the traumatic events in people’s lives tell meaningful stories of struggle and perseverance through the memories we choose to hold on to.  I reflect on the memoirs in Laura Levitt’s writing through my own life experience and understanding of the world by interpreting the emotions the writer is portraying from her or the person she is writing about. A great question is “what kind of mood is the memoir putting us, the reader, in?” I also reflect on my own life experience and surroundings by interpreting the current situation Laura is depicting and how I can learn from it. First, we need a clear understanding of what is going on. What are we reading or viewing? Where did it take place? How did this person end up in this situation?  Second, we must ask ourselves, “Can we possibly help?” Is this memoir coming directly from someone in real time or was this an event that happened recently to where we can help of some sort? In most cases, like the events Laura Levitt writes about, we cannot help her directly. At this point in time, we are reflecting on and trying to empathize with what has happened in the past. We are trying to prevent the same trauma from happening to someone else in the future. Third, we must understand all the possible solutions to the issue at hand.  We can list a few solutions and decide collectively the best course of action. Lastly, we must learn from the person delivering the memoir and decipher through the facts to see what we can pull from that person and apply to our own lives. Memoirs are not necessarily always good or bad. We can learn from both.

 In Laura's case, she was raped when she was studying for her doctorates in her late 20s. The only artifacts left from her case are sweatpants and underwear that were left with the police 25 years ago. She clings to these items because they are the only items that can bring her close to her memory of the past. They bring her story of perseverance alive. They are a sign of hope that things will get better for women in the future. The statistics of sexual assault worldwide for women is every 1 in 3. Although, I have three older sisters, I could never muster up the courage to come out of my mouth and ask them collectively if either of them has ever been assaulted. In Laura Levitt’s case, I cannot relate. Humbly considering myself a man that has never been bullied or messed with, my understanding of the world is that no one has ever had the need or audacity to really try to attack me. I would feel more connected to Laura if I were to talk to my older sisters about that topic, but I never had a reason to ask because I was the only boy sibling. They would more so give me advice on the woman I was dealing with at the time. We all come from somewhere and have a historical background. I happen to be African American with civil rights history at the museum in Washington, DC. So having a history of being enslaved allows me to connect with Laura’s memoir on the events of the Holocaust as a large amount of people were made to do things against their will and treated unfairly at a detrimental cost. Seeing the artifacts from the Holocaust in the book brings me back to seeing artifacts in the African American museum and reminds me of all the pain and suffering a group of people had to endure during troubling times. Laura Levitt’s memoirs are important to understanding the stories that people must relive through the objects we choose to hold on to. Each object tells a different story and allows us to create and recreate ourselves by either holding on to these objects or simply letting them slip from our memories. These objects help define our character and how we perceive the world we live in.

Below are quotes from Laura Levitt's 'The Objects That Remain' and their annotations:

Quote:  “In others they are saved only if and when they come to recognize ‘the great signs and wonders’ that God will give the Jews and, thus moved, ‘turn to our faith and declare that what they inherited from their fathers was a lie…For all the peoples will turn to the faith of the honored God through many wonders they will see when the Lord will deliver us from this exile. Join us or die (35-36).’”

Explanation: These words were in the writings of Ashkenazi Jewry when addressing what would happen to the Nazis for what they did to the Jews, offering a form of redemption by converting to their faith and asking for repentance.

Quote: “In Revelation 6:9-11, not unlike the procession on Pentecost that Biddick describes, Christian martyrs are given “white robes” that will hold the evidence of their blood. And their sufferings too will be avenged at the end of days when the corpus delicti is brought before God (37).”

Explanation: Here they are mentioning the importance of blood. Christian Martyrs are given white robes to show the dirt and blood that comes with their sacrifice. They almost embrace the blood stained on their white robes to represent the shedding of blood from Jesus Christ.

Quote: “And like Nelson, who fiercely refuses the legitimacy of state violence, I do not want our reckoning with violence, I do not want our reckoning with violence to result in more violence. Being heard, acknowledged, recognized, seen, understood – these are all variations on what it might mean to do justice to those who suffer (43).”  

Explanation: In the famous words of Dr. Martin Luther Jr., “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Laura Levitt and Maggie Nelson reiterated the same statement elaborating more on how people need to be validated of their suffering and pain to heal from it.

Quote: “She wants to be like the Buddha and train in the fire of antiviolence activists, ‘master warriors’ – not warriors who kill and harm but warriors of nonaggression who hear the cries of the world…[Men] and women who are willing to train in the middle of the fire… [men and women who] enter challenging situations in order to alleviate suffering.’ She struggles to hold on (51).”

Explanation:  Maggie Nelson is explaining how hard it is for her to push on through each passing day dealing with the traumas from her aunt Jane’s death. She struggles to cope with the facts and evidence of the murder case but chooses to fight through her pain in search of being a beacon of hope for others who may have to experience the same situation.

Quote: “But if that nation against which I made the decree turns its back from its wickedness, I change My mind concerning the punishment I planned to bring on it. But if it does what is displeasing to Me and does not obey Me, then I change My mind concerning the good I planned to bestow upon it.” -Jeremiah 18:9-10

Explanation: A scripture from the Bible explaining how God will forgive those who turn away from their evil doing and repent for their sins. It also explains how those who choose to continue to wallow in their wickedness have chosen to be punished by the hand of God for their deeds.

 Quote: “Objects make the past tangible, but they cannot erase the break. There is no going back to what had been. But we need to keep telling stories. Objects hold out the promise of finding something of ourselves. And, if we are lucky, we will find our voices in the narratives of others, making all of us less lonely and the world, perhaps, more beautiful (69).”

Explanation: Objects can tell stories. These objects cannot change what happened in the past, but they can draw us closer to them allowing us to reflect on past events which help us prevent them from happening again. Knowing that we can learn from our mistakes draws us closer together as a community and makes us happier knowing how to prevent these horrible events from being repeating.

Quote: “For Latta and Rush, this comes down to the question of trust. Can we trust these officials and their work - delivering, seizing, recording, and safeguarding evidence? Do these professionals adhere to the highest standards of ethics in their work? Without this basic trust, the whole legal system is unable to function (80).”

Explanation: These words were delivered after Levitt’s examination of evidence collected by the police. She found out the evidence collected during crimes is rarely ever used to find criminals and can end up missing in most cases. Of course, this was back in a time when they didn’t have as many technological advancements but this lack of accountability of the police to safeguard these pieces of evidence breeds distrust within the community. This period of time marked the turning point of the IAPE.

Quote: “The museum’s collection of Holocaust artifacts enables the institution to do its work. According to this logic, visitors to the USHMM will be inspired ‘to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity’ by seeing and engaging with these artifacts. By enabling the museum to continue to amass evidence, the work of educating the public will continue (106).”

 Explanation: Here, it is important to understand that collecting artifacts is not about celebrating violence but more so about addressing hatred and promoting the dignity of humankind. We must preserve these precious artifacts. Continuing to collect artifacts is our continuous learning. They allow us to reflect on the past and get better moving forward.

Quote: “Right now, I am hopeful. I see myself reflected in my former home. Although we are both older and grayer, we both stand tall. Like the ship Argo, we are still who and what we once were, even with all these changes. And yet I need to say this once again: our stories could have been otherwise. There are no guarantees. We too might have ended up like the house next door, which just might also, over time, become something else (145).”

Explanation: This is Laura Levitt coming back 25 years later to the house where her crime took place. She is reflecting on who she and the house are as an entity bound together by what happened many years ago. Although older and grayer, they both stand strong. She states their stories could have been otherwise meaning knocked down and never rebuilt or knocked down and rebuilt completely. They were neither. Rather, they weathered the storm together to make it to the other side still strong, telling a story of resilience.