BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//artshound.com//NONSGML iCalcreator 2.6// VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:Calendar of artshound.com X-WR-CALDESC:In this calendar you will find information about events that y ou did save X-WR-TIMEZONE:US/Pacific BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20100729T214810CEST-4860lUVHrv@artshound.com DTSTAMP:20100729T194810Z CATEGORIES:Personal CLASS:EVENT DESCRIPTION:Event Name: EXTENDED Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During the Ho locaust\nEvent Url: http://www.artshound.com/event/detail/21027/EXTENDED_B esa_Muslims_Who_Saved_Jews_During_the_Holocaust\nEvent Date Begin: 2009-07 -16\nEvent Date End: 2010-04-04\n\nHolocaust Museum Houston presents the e xhibition Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust. \nIn these tu multuous times of rife\, uncertainty and conflict between religions\, a ne w photographic exhibition opening this July at Holocaust Museum Houston ta kes an in-depth look at the compassion and commonality between Muslims and Jews during one of the world's most traumatic periods\, the Holocaust.\n' Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews during the Holocaust' depicts the heroic stor ies of Albanian Muslims who showed a heart-melting kindness and righteous determination to save Jews &ndash\; those of Albanian origin and refugees alike &ndash\; from extermination despite great danger to themselves.\nAlb ania\, a European country with a Muslim majority\, succeeded where other E uropean nations failed in dealing with Nazi Germany. Prior to World War II \, some 200 Jews lived in Albania. After Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1 933\, hundreds of Jews from Yugoslavia\, Germany\, Greece\, Austria and Se rbia crossed the border into Albania. By the war's end\, almost all Jews l iving within Albanian borders during the German occupation had been saved. \nThe exhibit opens Friday\, July 17\, 2009\, and runs through Feb. 7\, 20 10 in the Museum's Central Gallery at the Morgan Family Center\, 5401 Caro line St.\, in Houston's Museum District. Admission is free. The public is invited to a free preview reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday\, July 16 . Visit www.hmh.org/register.asp to RSVP online.\nThe exhibition stems fr om a five-year project by Colorado-based photographer Norman Gershman\, wh o set out to collect the names of righteous\, non-Jews who saved Jews duri ng the Holocaust. He discovered that some of the names were of Albanian Mu slims. He then began a quest to meet and photograph the Albanian rescuers or their descendents. During his interviews\, when he asked why they had r escued Jews\, the resounding response was 'Besa\,' a code of honor deeply rooted in Albanian culture and incorporated in the faith of Albanian Musli ms.\nBesa means literally 'to keep the promise.' One who acts according to Besa is someone who keeps his word\, someone to whom one can trust one's life and the lives of one's family. So when the Germans occupied Albania i n 1943\, the local population refused to comply with the Nazis' orders to turn over lists of Jews residing in Albania. Albanians took fleeing Jews i nto their homes\, lived with them as family and protected them at great pe ril.\nUnder their culture\, the honor of helping someone in need is so pri zed\, according to Gershman\, that Albanians fought over who would take th e Jews into shelter. There is no evidence\, he says\, of any Jew ever bein g turned over to the Nazis by an Albanian.\n'There was no government consp iracy\, no underground railroad\, no organized resistance of any kind &nda sh\; only individual Albanians\, acting alone\, to save the lives of peopl e whose lives were in immediate danger. My portraits of these people\, and their stories\, are meant to reflect their humanity\, their dignity\, the ir religious and moral convictions\, and their quiet courage\,' he said.\n Yad Vashem in Jerusalem\, Israel has since recognized 63 Albanians as 'Rig hteous Among the Nations.'\nAn exhibit of Gershman's photographs also has been displayed previously at Yad Vashem as well as at the headquarters of the United Nations in January 2008 as part of International Holocaust Reme mbrance Day activities. The exhibit is based on Gershman's book 'Besa: Mus lims Who Saved Jews During World War II\,' which documents the stories of 65 Albanian families.\nGershman's mission is to use art as the primary for m of expression to break down stereotypes and build upon the deep roots of humanism that cross racial\, ethnic\, religious and national boundaries. His photographs are purposeful. What comes though is his overriding belief in the goodness of the people reflected in his portraits.\nHis inspiring message of hope and compassion in these days of conflict and confrontation aims to help heal a fractured world. As professor Akbar Ahmed of American University in Washington\, D.C.\, wrote in the forward to Gershman's book \, 'Building these bridges across cultures and religions is no longer an i ntellectual pastime\, it is an imperative if we are to survive the 21st ce ntury.'\nGershman embarked on his career as a photographer at a relatively late age. He studied with and was influenced by the works of the photogra phers Ansel Adams\, Roman Vishniac and Arnold Newman\, as well as under th e tutelage of Cornell Capa\, the founder and director of the International Center of Photography in New York. Ultimately\, Gershman developed a pers onal style focusing on portraiture\, in which he lends a personal touch em phasizing the special personality of the subject.\nHis works can be found in a variety of public collections\, including the International Center of Photography\, New York\; the Brooklyn Museum\; the Aspen Museum of Art an d a number of galleries in Russia. He lives and works in Aspen\, Colorado. \nA film documentary of 'Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II' is curren tly in production and scheduled for international release in early 2010. \nThe exhibit is traveled by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Reli gion Museum and presented with special thanks to Continental Airlines\, of ficial airline of Holocaust Museum Houston.\nHolocaust Museum Houston is d edicated to educating people about the Holocaust\, remembering the 6 milli on Jews and other innocent victims and honoring the survivors' legacy. Usi ng the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides\, the Museum teaches t he dangers of hatred\, prejudice and apathy.\nHolocaust Museum Houston is free and open to the public and is located in Houston's Museum District at 5401 Caroline St.\, Houston\, TX 77004.\n\nStart time: The public is invi ted to a free preview reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday\, July 16\, 2 009. Visit www.hmh.org/register.asp to RSVP online. For more information \, call 713-942-8000\, ext. 100\, or e-mail exhibits@hmh.org .\nRegular Mu seum Hours:\nMonday-Friday 9am-5pm \nSaturday-Sunday 12noon-5pm DTSTART:20090716T000000 DTEND:20100404T000000 LOCATION: SUMMARY:EXTENDED Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust TRANSP:TRANSPARENT END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR