Marian Kołodziej was on one of the first transports to enter Auschwitz. He survived and never spoke of his experience for 50 years. After a serious stroke in 1993, he began rehabilitation by doing pen and ink drawings depicting the experiences he and others endured in the concentration camp.
The Museum and the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture screened The Labyrinth, a documentary film in which Marian takes the audience on a journey through his drawings and art installations. Through the blending of his testimony and graphic drawings, we explore the memories and nightmares of a man who buried his experiences deep within. Why would a confrontation with death late in life trigger the need to record his long-suppressed memories? And why in this graphic, metaphorical fashion? This documentary raises these questions in a visually stunning way.
Below, watch the post-film screening discussion and audience Q&A with producer Father Ron Schmidt – a Jesuit priest and award-winning documentary filmmaker – and renowned Holocaust scholar Dr. Michael Berenbaum.