Evlampia Tsireli
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
This paper will focus on the stages of research and creation of a graphic novel based on the ladino (Judeo-Spanish) testimony of Samuel Profeta, available at the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. Sam Profeta was a Holocaust survivor from Thessaloniki. Known to the Jews of Thessaloniki as “Uncle Sam”, he became a symbol through his postwar dedication to children.
When he arrived in Birkenau, Profeta watched his whole family disappear. A shocking incident involving a mother and a child led him to a promise: “If I survive this, I will dedicate my life to children”. This promise became a focus, a survival compass, during captivity and liberation, leading to its fulfillment after war.
For the creation of the graphic novel, the process included an analysis of the survivor’s testimony, its transcription and translation, digitalization of the photographic material, research at the Historical Archive of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki and examination of relevant bibliography, articles as well as interviews. The script’s mixed language, Greek and Judeo-Spanish, serves in the readers’ meeting with Sephardic tradition.
The graphic novel serves as a critical edition of the testimony, and as testimony metanarrative where event, representation and language meet, with pedagogical impact to future generations in a broader cross-cultural and inter-religious context. Creative storytelling in such a modern literary medium is an example of new ways of telling history and utilizing memory in 21st century.
Evlampia Tsireli is Yale Artist-in-Residence and postdoctoral fellow in Modern and Contemporary History and Social Anthropology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She holds a PhD in Biblical Literature and Religion (AUTH). Her research and teaching focus on the history of religions, biblical archaeology, religious education, Hebrew and Judeo-Spanish language and culture, metanarrative and creative writing.