"I find it comforting and strangely connected to this project to be a secular Jew, in the Catholic chapel of an Albanian nun who lived in India, offering a simple prayer in Arabic. Over and over, Muslim families told me: ‘To save a life is to go to paradise.’ The sons of one rescuer told me what their father had taught them and what they live by: ‘If there is a knock on the door, take responsibility’."
Norman H. Gershman
Norman H. Gershman embarked on his career as a photographer at a relatively late age. He studied with and was influenced by the works of the photographers Ansel Adams, Roman Vishniac and Arnold Newman, as well as under the tutelage of Cornell Capa, the founder and director of the International Center of Photography in New York. Ultimately, Gershman developed a personal style focusing on portraiture, in which he lends a personal touch emphasizing the special personality of the subject.
For four years Gershman focused on photographing Muslim families who rescued Jews during the Holocaust, converging between two seemingly opposed worlds.
Norman Gershman’s works are to be found in a variety of public collections, including the International Center of Photography, New York; the Brooklyn Museum; the Aspen Museum of Art and a number of galleries in Russia.
Gershman lives and works in Aspen, Colorado.
