“Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky” – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor.
This week the world held Holocaust Memorial Day, marking 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviets. And to mark this anniversary, I have colourised a selection of photos taken throughout the first few months of 1945, as the rest of the world became fully aware of the horrors of the Nazi holocaust.
This was the most harrowing project I have ever worked on. I usually enjoy colourising photos as the process brings the subjects to life gradually, which is a satisfying experience. Still, with this project, it was upsetting as the images are so shocking.
They serve as a stark reminder of man’s inhumanity to man. I had to give myself time to do something else and try to switch off while working on these photos as they made me angry. I felt sicker as the pictures came to life, but I feel it was an important thing to do, to remind people – especially younger generations, that this happened and that it’s not that far back in history.
It is so important, especially as the years go on, that we do more to bring the past to life, and keep images like these relevant and shocking, so this never happens again.
The colourising process was also different as these people were close to death by the time of their liberation, so painting skin tones was utterly different. In colour, you can see the bones and the pale, bloodless skin, and even young men look older with greying hair and dark patches around their eyes.
I am a British photo colouriser. Please visit PhotograFix on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram if you want to check out more.
