The Lens and Memory: From Lee Miller’s Vision to Momì’s Fate

Photography as a historical document: from the Great History in Lee Miller’s shots to the private images of Italo and Régine Momigliano, between Paris and Turin

Berti High School Main Hall, January 27-30, 2026

The event organized for Holocaust Remembrance Day at Berti High School stood out for its ability to transform commemoration into a truly educational experience. The initiative, curated by Professor Gazzi, longtime leader of the Institute’s Holocaust Remembrance Project, with the collaboration of singing teacher Arianna Stornello, offered a rigorous curriculum that successfully connected the Great Universal History to the personal dimension.
The common thread was the photographic gaze: from the raw and iconic shots of American photographer Lee Miller, a privileged witness to the first moments of post-war Germany, to the intimate story of the Momigliano family, between Paris and Turin.
The heart of the event saw the students of the IV G class of the EsaBac High School as protagonists.
The students explained with great seriousness an exhibition path divided into four areas, commenting on the images, placed on panels, with captions in three languages: Italian, French and German.
The final part of the event took on a performative dimension and a profound emotional impact: the reading of passages from Italo Momigliano’s diary was intertwined with the projection of family photos and the performance of music (live violin and piano) and songs in Hebrew and French. The presence of Italo Momigliano’s daughter Silvana and granddaughter in the room lent a dimension of reality and tangible emotion, transforming historical research into living testimony.
In a complex historical moment like the one we are experiencing, in which the very meaning of Holocaust Remembrance Day is sometimes criticized or questioned, participating in an event of this depth restores the authentic meaning of remembrance.
When Remembrance ceases to be an empty celebration and becomes rigorous research, attention to detail, and active participation—as demonstrated by the students’ earnestness and the attentive silence of their peers in the audience—it becomes a vital vehicle of values ​​for new generations. It is precisely through this conscious and participatory passing of the baton that the transmission of remembrance retains its full raison d’être today.

Eva Vitali Norsa