Surviving the Plan: Holocaust Photography Exhibit

When photographer Jerry Casciano aims the lens of his Hasselblad camera, he delves deep into the heart of his subject. “Photography,” says this Italian American from Rumson, “has never been about seagulls and flowers and sunsets, but rather the eyes to the depths of a subject.”

Casciano’s most recent exhibit, “Surviving the Plan,” documents the power of survival of Holocaust survivors from Auschwitz, Treblinka and the Warsaw Ghetto. The exhibit opens with a cocktail reception on Sunday, April 6 from 5:30-7 pm; and runs through April 30 at the JCC’s Gallery on Grant, 100 Grant Avenue, Deal Park.

Margit with photo of her parents.

The exhibit depicts 20 photos of Treblinka and Auschwitz and 15 photos of survivors telling their story. The survivors are all New Jersey residents.

The idea for the exhibit sprouted during Jerry’s childhood, from the stories his father told him of Dachau. The late Jerry Casciano, Sr. was one of the first US military officers to liberate the camp, and the haunting memories of what he saw there were passed on to his son.

“I always knew I would visit there one day,” says Casciano, who spent three weeks visiting the camps in 2004, plus nearly two months photographing the survivors back in New Jersey.

A commercial photographer for 30 years, Casciano also works in political campaign photography, serving as Governor McGreevey and Governor Codey’s personal photographer while they were in office. In 1979 and 1980 he studied under Ansel Adams.

Survivor Sam with bread.

Casciano’s true passion is photographic studies. He did an eight-year photographic study on thoroughbred horseracing, as well as immersion studies on the inner workings of a hospital and a circus troupe.

“Surviving the Plan” first caught the eye of Paul Winkler, head of the NJ Holocaust Commission about four years ago. The commission viewed it as a powerful education tool, and the exhibit opened at the Governor’s Mansion in Princeton during McGreevey’s last year in office.

The stories of each survivor are told briefly in vivid captions accompanying each photo. One survivor named Sam, a cabinet maker by trade, tells the story of how he was taken under the wing of an Auschwitz guard and asked to make cabinets in the guard’s home, in exchange for bread. The guard finally made good on his promise for bread, tossing the bread to the prisoner while simultaneously kicking him violently in the face.