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To the right stands Adolf, next to his father Bernard, an insurance agent. To the father’s left are Rudolf and Siegfried. Friedrich (named after the German emperor of that time) is sitting on the right. Next to him, pretty Hilde (Hildegard), the mother Julia, followed by Walter, the fifth and youngest of the sons, a mischievous young boy who will hold the full weight of his family's future. But let’s take a moment back.

The year is 1908 (more or less), Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany, the origin town of the Windsors - the English royal family. 
It is almost thirty years before the hand-held camera will change the world of photography forever. But this morning, back in 1908, the family is busy preparing for the rare photo-opportunity that was scheduled many days before. The entire morning is dedicated to showers and choosing the proper wardrobe.
At the photographer’s studio, the chairs are carefully scattered opposite to the view-painted wall, making room for this large family. The photographer bands over, takes off the dark cloth and looks through the camera, which stands on a wooden tripod. He rises again, corrects and gives instructions like: “Would you please lower your chin, Sir? Adolf, please do not distract your brothers with jokes!! It is not dignified for a portrait!”
The photographic materials are extremely expensive, and the photographer will not waste good materials on a photo he cannot be proud of. Props would help create the proper ambiance he looks for. He gives a newspaper into the father’s hands (to make him look respected), flowers for pretty Hilde and a book for young Walter. Probably the first book the young brat ever held, thinks the photographer. He is wrong.
Click.
A typical German family takes a picture. Or so it seems…

THIRTY YEARS LATER

Siegfried was killed on February 27, 1915 as a German soldier on the French front, World War I.

Friedrich, who named his son after his beloved brother Walter, was arrested after Chrystal Night, 1938, sent to Buchenwald, a Nazi Concentration Camp, where he was murdered. His wife paid for his ashes, making him the only Nazi victim in the city of Darmstadt who has a grave. His wife, Adele and son Walter, where murdered later on.
Bernard and Julia were deported to Ghetto Theresienstadt (Terezin) and died there. Date of death is unknown.
Adolf, a sales person, never married, was deported to Ghetto Riga on December 15, 1941 and was murdered there.
Rudolf, a shoes salesman, was deported with his wife to Ghetto Riga on December 15, 1941. Both were murdered there.
Hilde escaped Nazi Germany, first to Finland and then to Sweden and Brazil. She was married and had no kids. Following her husband’s death she immigrated to Israel.
Walter has studied Law in Germany but found more interest in literature and poetry than his studies. He immigrated to Israel (than Palestine) immediately following the Nazi triumph of 1933. With him came his future wife Kaethe. Few years later, Kaethe gave a premature birth to a little boy. Despite of rather high death rates for premature infants those days, the infant, Daniel, survived. Today he has four children and twelve grandchildren.
A family tree shaped as an hourglass, with a neck as narrow as a single grain.
My family.

Time takes it toll with the survivors and with the memories left. Photographs are not forever. It is our duty to save those visual memories for the generations to come. If you have photographs of holocaust victims or survivors you can stop the impact of time by scanning those photographs. If time already had its impact on those photographs feel free to send them over and I’ll try to restore them myself or with the help of other photographers or photography students.

PHOTO RESTORATION

Mouse over the photograph to see the before state.

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