A NEW exhibition exploring secret photographs taken during the Holocaust opens at Bradford’s Peace Museum today.

The Eye As Witness: Recording the Holocaust has been produced by the National Holocaust Centre and Museum and the University of Nottingham and asks the question: “Through whose eyes are we seeing the past?”

Few people today would not recognise a photograph of Hitler. Everyone has seen at least one image showing victims of Nazi racial persecution.

But many of the photographs are taken by the perpetrators - doing little for the dignity of the victims and failing to help us realise they often lived ‘everyday’ lives only days before the Nazis came to power.

The exhibition takes a fresh look at this problem, looking at the agendas behind the photographs and examining what they fail to show.

It turns attention to images that are rarely seen today - secret photographs taken by Jewish people and members of the anti-Nazi resistance, who, at great risk to themselves, used the camera to record the story as they saw it.

A special opening event will be held this evening from 5.30-7pm. It will feature an introduction to the exhibition from Kelly Scott - Project Educator at The National Holocaust Centre and Museum.

Using a combination of secret photos, visual testimony and words of the survivors, the exhibition will also be on display at Manchester’s Imperial War Museum North.

Charlotte Hall, Curator at The Peace Museum, said: “We’re thrilled to be hosting The Eye as Witness as we’re always interested in helping to showcase untold stories of peacemakers and explore history a bit more critically. We hope the exhibition will inspire people to look towards different perspectives to what we get told in the history books and learn lessons from real people involved in the Holocaust who risked their lives to tell their stories.”

Kelly Scott added: “The Eye as Witness exhibition showcases rarely seen photographs by victims that provide a counter-narrative to photographs taken by perpetrators. These photographs, and testimony, demonstrate acts of resilience and resistance by victims of the Holocaust and encourage visitors to ask questions about what photographs fail to show us.”

Meanwhile, an exhibition of photographs documenting worshippers at Bradford’s last synagogue is going on display at Cartwright Hall.

The black and white photographs were all taken by local photographer Nudrat Afza and will be on show between February 1 until May 3.