Erbelding, the museum’s photographic director Judy Cohen (Kathleen Chalfant), and the rest of the staff soon realize the album offers a visual diary of daily life at the camp, not pictures depicting horrors. Among them are photos of uniformed soldiers relaxing, gossiping and posing for the camera; a series of photos shows a group of young women sitting on the railing of a porch while eating blueberries; and a large group of officers and other personnel having an impromptu celebration. The photos show how life went as normally as possible in certain parts of the Auschwitz complex, which covered over 15 square miles and was far more extensive than the barracks that housed the inmates, the labor camp, and the gas chambers.

This disconnect between reality and the image the Nazis wanted to project to the world is apparent throughout the album. This fact is brought home through photos of a Christmas tree and a Christmas party for the children of the soldiers who lived at the camp in December 1944, weeks before Auschwitz was liberated.

Conceived and directed by Kaufman, with a cast that takes on multiple roles, the show has a docudrama feel as Erbelding, Cohen, and others unravel the meaning behind these photos, learn why and for whom these images were taken, and determine how the album had survived over the decades. The audience accompanies them on this detective story of discovery as they watch these photos become links to a much more detailed picture than they first imagined. Answers are found and conclusions are drawn thanks to research, assumptions, and a sometimes-unexpected connection, like when one man (Charlie Thurston) recognizes his own grandfather as one of the Nazis in the photos.

There’s a debate as to whether these photos should even be displayed as they put a spotlight on the people who worked at the camp, rather than the victims. It’s especially egregious because the photos include Dr. Josef Mengele, the “Angel of Death”; Rudolf Höss, the man who designed Auschwitz; and Otto Moll, who supervised the gas chambers. They are all standing around and smiling. David Bengail’s projection design when it comes to these images and lighting designer David Lander’s subdued effects accentuate the somber mood. Best of all, the production never talks down to those in attendance or simplifies the story or its messages.

‘Here There Are Blueberries’: Where Darkness Has a Human Face

‘Corduroy’: Warm Fuzzies for the Whole Family

‘The Three Sisters’: Delving Into the Human Psyche

‘All of Me’: Going for the Jugular by Way of the Heart