The survivor and the object: both are witnesses to history and retainers of memory, traumatic pasts captured beyond the lines of a textbook. Through the eyes of survivors, we can begin to understand the enduring and profoundly human impact of the Holocaust.
In these photographs, history and memory fuse seamlessly together. A blanket of human hair recalls the horror of Nazi crimes and also speaks to the resilience of the individual it covered at the moment of liberation. A satirical newsletter written in secret recalls the terror of ghettoization, while simultaneously revealing the wit and determination of the young woman who wrote it.
As the events of the Holocaust recede ever further into the past, the human stories that the survivors and their objects convey will emblazon their searing memories into the hearts and minds of generations to come. The stories of these individuals, in tandem with the often humble, yet deeply significant objects they hold, bring the past to bear in the present, compelling us to grapple with its meaning now and into the future.
Closer: Portraits of Survival was funded by the JCA Szlamek and Ester Lipman Memorial Endowment Fund.
Photography by Katherine Griffiths
Curated by Roslyn Sugarman and Natalia Thomas
Curated by Roslyn Sugarman and Natalia Thomas
Eddie Jaku
Survivor Portraits
Lotte Weis
John Gruschka
Peter Rossler
Sam Young
Paul Drexler
Survivor Portraits
George Gronjowski
Jaqueline Dale
Egon Sonnenschein
Joe Symon. Sydney Jewish Museum
Susanne Warhaftig. Sydney Jewish Museum
Maurice Linker. Sydney Jewish Museum
Kitty Lowinger. Sydney Jewish Museum
Ana de Leon. Sydney Jewish Museum
Gabby de Leon
Peter Reisman
Leon Milch
Peter Nash
Litzi Lemberg
Mimi Wise
Shmulek Moses
Jack Meister
Vera Kertesz
Tom Fleming
Francine Lazarus
Magda Forbath
Anne Heilig.
George Sternfeld
Gerty Jellinek
Vera Faludi
Lina Lipton
Margot Tischmann
Eva Engel
Ilse Charny
Dasia Black-Gutman
Beate Stricker
Yvonne Halas
Peter Halas
