24
HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
Hadera,Israel,touchhandssat
ona bedsurroundedbystuffed
softtoys.AdamHan-Górskiposes
wearingsportskitatanoutdoor
gyminPlymouth,Minnesota,USA.
HungarianOlympicgymnastics
champion,AgnesKeleti,stretches
onherbedathomeinBudapest,her
legsaswideashergrin.Anne
Frank’sstepsister,EvaSchloss,is
photographedinLondonstoodbya
stringof90thbirthdaycards.The
LonkaProjectisn’ttryingto
photographHolocaustsurvivors
acrosstheglobebuta fewcountries
remainimportantandelusive;a
survivorcan’tbelocatedinSpain,a
fewsurvivorsliveinPortugalbuta
photographerhasn’tbeen assigned.
Favouriteportrait
HasJima favouriteportraitfrom
thosesubmittedsofar?‘There’sone
I thoughtverylovelythatI would
considerforthecoverofthebook
[thereareplansfora book,
hopefullybytheendof2020;a
GermanpublisherJimmetatParis
Photohasexpressedaninterest].
It’sbyMarissaRoth,who
photographedDorothyBohm–
herselfa doyenneofBritish
photojournalism– inLondon.
Bohm,whois inherlate90s,was
friendswithHenriCartier-Bresson
andtheMagnumcrowdinthelate
1940s.Shewasa survivor,her
parentswereabletogetheroutof
EuropeandbringhertoLondon.’
Bohmwascloselyinvolvedin
foundingThePhotographers’
Gallery,London,andhaspublished
overa dozenbooks.In 2009 shewas
appointedHonoraryFellowofthe
RoyalPhotographicSociety.Her
portraithasherstoodstoically
behindherRolleiflexcamera.
Alongsideeachportraitis an
accompanyingstorywhichexplains
thecontext.Somearevaguein
detail,othersaredevastatingly
poignant.RalphHakman
photographedbyBarbaraDavidson:
‘RalphregularlyobservedhisSS
supervisordrivingtothecrematoria
ina RedCrossvan,donninga mask
andemptyingthreecanistersof
ZyklonB crystalpelletsinto
designatedports.Ralphheardthe
screamsofthedyingJews,andthen
15 minuteslater,whenthedoors
wereopened,hesawthebodies
tumblingout.’MiriamZiegler
photographedbyMoeDoiron:
‘WhenMiriamwasnine,all
prisonerswereputoncattlecars
anddeportedtoAuschwitzwhere
Miriamwasseparatedfromher
parents. Her father was killed in the
gaschambers.Miriamwastattooed
withthenumberA16891,shaved
andwaskeptinthebarrackswhere
experimentswereperformedonthe
children.Miriammanagedto
surviveuntilAuschwitzwas
liberatedonJanuary27,1945.’Film
directorRomanPolanski,is
casuallysnappedbyFranckLeclerc,
a jackethookedoverhisshoulder.
‘Roman’smother,Bula,expectinga
child,wastakenfromherfamily
andsenttodeathinthegas
chambersofAuschwitz.’Thestories
aredistilledhorrorsofman.
Manyoftheportraitsshowthe
survivorwiththeiridentification
tattoobutnoteverysurvivor
portraitis fromthedeathcamps.
Photographerscaninterpret
holocaustsurvivorastheylike.The
Lonkaprojectincludespeoplewho
werehiddenunderground,in
forests, homes, monasteries,