subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 9 May 2020 25
HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
‘TheLonkaProject has
neverbeenmore
relevant and urgent’
inNewYork:‘I hada veryemotional
shootyesterday.Inworkingthrough
theweeksandprocessofsettingup
thisportraitsessionI hadnotgiven
muchthoughttowhattoexpect
emotionallywhentalkingand
spendingtimewithoursubject.I
havetravelledtheworldand
photographedchildreninAfricafor
OperationSmile,EthiopianJews
beingresettledinIsraelfor
Hadassah,teensinNYCfor
AvenuesforJusticeforover 20 years
butnevera 94-year-oldinBrooklyn
whostillliveshispastlikeit is
today.It wasa rewardingtwohours
spentwithanamazingsurvivorand
exampleoftheunsungheroesofthe
Holocaust.Samuelis openand
willingtosharehisexperiences
whicharehorrendous.Helives
themeverydaywithouttheability
toblockthemout.I didnotexpect
that. It took him decades before he
Clockwise from top
left:
EvaSchloss
celebratesher 90th
birthday
AdamHan-Górski
wasbornin 1940
in Lvov
DorothyBohmwas
bornin 1924in
Königsberg, East
Prussia
RomanPolanski
wasbornas
RaymondLiebling
in Paris,toa
Jewish-Polish
family
Dr.MosheAvital
wasbornin 1930in
Czechoslovakia,
now Ukraine
nunneries,andfledtoother
countries.BenFrenecz,
photographedbyAndyAnderson,is
nota Holocaustsurvivorbutheis
responsibleforhundredsof
thousandsofsurvivors.Bornin
Hungaryon 11 March1920,Frenecz
wasaninvestigatorofNaziwar
crimesafterWorldWarII,
becomingChiefProsecutorforthe
UnitedStatesattheEinsatzgruppen
Trial,oneofthe 12 militarytrials
heldbytheU.S.atNuremberg,
Germany.Allofthe 22 menontrial
wereconvicted: 13 receivedthe
deathsentence,fourwere
implemented.Thiswiderrangeof
storiesincreasestheeducational
valueoftheproject.
Photographerscontributingto
TheLonkaProjecthaveclearlybeen
affected– asMartyUmansrecounts
inherexperiencephotographing
Samuel Beller, aged 94, at his home
wasabletosharehisexperiences
butI don’tthinkit hasbeena
healing,moreofa cause,andat 94
hedoesn’thavethesameenergyto
sharehisstory.I amgratefulforhis
twohoursandcherishmytime.’
Intotal, 93 portraitswere
exhibitedin100ftofspaceatthe
UnitedNationsinNewYorkon
27 January,NationalHolocaust
Day.Moreexhibitionsarescheduled
attheJewishMuseumand
ToleranceCentre,Moscow,in
Berlin,maybeSouthAfricaand
othervenuesaroundNewYork.
Therewillbea month-long outdoor
showinJerusalem.
Stressfulcircumstances
Withtwophotojournalistsworking
instressfulcircumstances,I hadto
askJimhowtheyhavestayed
marriedfor 35 years?‘We’reboth
photographerscoveringthenews,
weusedtoworkquitea lottogether
duringtheFirstIntifada
[Palestinianprotestsandviolent
riotsagainsttheIsraelioccupation
oftheWestBankandGaza],and
someofthewars,theScudwarin
the1990s.RinaworkswithThe
NewYorkTimesandI workwith
ReutersandEPA,sowe’rebothout
coveringthestoryoftheday.Israel
beinga verysmallcountry,youcan
bea conflictphotographeronthe
frontlinealldaylong,thenanhour
anda halflateryou’rebackathome
withthekids,youhavedinnerand
forgetallaboutwhatyousawduring
thedayandyoubecomea family.
It’seasytogetbackhome,soit’snot
likeyou’reawayonassignmentfor
monthsandmonthsata time.’
Rina’spolishparentswereboth
survivors.It wassomethingthat
wasneverspokenabout.Theyused
codewordswhenspeakingaboutit
withtheirsurvivorfriends.They
neversatRinaandhersisterdown
andexplainedwhattheywent
through,onlyopeningupa little
morewhenRinawasmucholderon
a triptoPoland,visitingfamily
homesandconcentrationcamps,
fiveofwhichhermothersurvived
includingAuschwitzandBelsen.
On 20 Marchthisyear,88-year-
oldHolocaustsurvivorAryehEven,
becamethefirstIsraelitodieof
coronavirus.Sadly,TheLonka
Projecthasneverbeenmore
relevant and urgent.
© MARISSA ROTH / THE LONK A PROJECT, 2019
© ALEC SOTH / THE LONK A PROJECT, 2020
