A new Holocaust memorial planned for Fairfield University in Connecticut will serve as both a site of remembrance and an educational resource, with programming already underway ahead of its expected installation in July and public unveiling in September.
The bronze sculpture, titled “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots,” will be donated by the nonprofit Shoah Memorial of Fairfield, Conn., and installed on the private Catholic university’s campus as a permanent monument honoring victims of the Holocaust.
Created by artist Victoria Milstein, the work is based on a photograph taken in Liepāja, Latvia, Dec. 15, 1941, during the Nazi mass killings of Jewish women and children on the Baltic coast.
One woman, identified as Frume Purve, refused to remove her boots before her death, an act the memorial describes as “a symbol of hope, defiance and the enduring strength of the human spirit.”
The sculpture depicts five Jewish women, including Purve, and incorporates a bronze camera that viewers can look through. Organizers say the feature is intended to evoke the perspective of the Nazi photographer who documented victims’ final moments, transforming viewers into witnesses rather than passive observers.
“By interacting with the camera’s lens, viewers, especially students, become witnesses, observing the stark contrast to the photographer’s original intent,” Shoah Memorial stated. “This immersive experience creates a deep, personal connection with the history and lessons of the Holocaust.”
The memorial project includes educational components such as guided tours and a documentary intended to accompany the installation and expand Holocaust education on campus.
The concept builds on an earlier installation of the same sculpture in LeBauer Park in Greensboro, N.C., completed in 2023. The Fairfield version will be a second casting of the original work.
Paul Burger, chair of Shoah Memorial, was inspired to bring the project to Connecticut after seeing the Greensboro installation. The nonprofit says Fairfield University quickly supported the initiative, citing its educational mission and existing Judaic studies programming.
Fairfield University will also host its annual Holocaust memorial program on April 16, featuring Shay Pilnik, director of the Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University.
