An article by Alix Strauss in the July 7 issue of The New York Times’ “Vows” column introduces the focus of a recently added online exhibition, produced by Yad Vashem and titled “Weddings During the Holocaust, which debuted, as planned, on Feb. 14, 2024.

Six months in the making, “Weddings During the Holocaust” is one of 70 ongoing online illustrating exhibits depicting the Holocaust. It is the only retrospective to illustrate couples who married during WWII, at a time when millions of Jews were killed at the hands of the Nazis and their allies, The New York Times said.

The exhibition highlights 11 couples, with 40-plus photos that explore their weddings across various landscapes during three specific times: weddings under restrictive law, depicting the first days of the occupation and deportations while Jews were still in their homes; weddings in ghettos and camps, highlighting Jews who fell in love and wedded in the concentration and labor camps; and weddings after liberation, when Jews were determined to rebuild their lives and their families after the Holocaust.

According to Natalie Mandelbaum, who oversaw the project, “Weddings represented resilience, courage, hope and a desire for life…Together they were much stronger and made each other stronger. These survivors chose life. They chose love. They chose to be together.” Yad Vashem/Kaufmann family