ON TOUR: The Holocaust Survivors *

A remarkable portrait exhibition has opened at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, complimented with a programme made by the BBC World Service recently shown on BBC Two.

Commissioned by Prince Charles, and opened by HRH on Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January) the paintings depict seven survivors, with their stories.

Speaking on the occasion, and accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince chose his words with care.

“As the number of Holocaust survivors sadly, but inevitably, declines, my abiding hope is that this special collection will act as a further guiding light for our society, reminding us not only of history’s darkest days, but of humanity’s interconnectedness as we strive to create a better world for our children, grandchildren and generations as yet unborn; one where hope is victorious over despair and love triumphs over hate”.

If you plan to visit the Queen’s Gallery (pre-booking required) take a look first at the BBC Two programme on iPlayer for a real weepie.  The very well laid out exhibition closes on 13 February and then reopens at Holyrood, Edinburgh (17 March – 6 June).

The subjects of the portraits (all in their 90s and with great personalities) endured the Nazi concentration camps as young children. The stories they told, of being separated from their parents and witnessing endless horrors, were unimaginable.

Manfred Goldberg, one of the participants, put it another way. “Everything that is in short supply goes up in value. Holocaust survivors are very few now, so we’ve become a sort of precious commodity” , he said. “It may sound a strange way of putting it, but I think that’s what it boils down to: people realise that it won’t be very long before there will be no first-hand witnesses who can stand up and say: ‘This is my experience’.”

Goldberg’s experience was heart-breaking. His younger brother Herman, aged only nine, was considered too young to work as slave labour, and was permitted to stay behind in the camp. Goldberg and his mother returned one day to find that Herman had been taken away by the SS. They never saw him again. “I can still hear my mother’s wails at having lost her little boy”, Goldberg said.  Even more remarkable was that at Buckingham Palace.  He was joined by Zigi Shipper, from Lodz, whom he met and saved on the infamous ‘Death March’ to Belsen in 1945.  They have been close friends ever since.  

These testimonies were interspersed with film of the survivors – Goldberg & Shipper,, Helen Aronson, Lily Ebert, Arek Hersh, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Rachel Levy – sitting for their portraits. The artists were also interviewed adding a poignancy to the programme.  

All expressed their feelings and spoke of a great sense of responsibility.  But there were lighter moments, as when Ebert – she is a sprightly 98 years old – jokingly asked to be painted as her 18-year-old self. She was determined, she told her portraitist, to be painted smiling. As with all of the others, she was possessed of an indomitable spirit.

Prince Charles has long been involved in Holocaust education and remembrance.

Holocaust Educational Trust Chief Executive Karen Pollock commented, “This is an incredible initiative led by HRH The Prince of Wales. These Holocaust survivors endured the very worst. They were rounded up into ghettos, sent to concentration camps and enslaved as forced labourers. To survive the concentration and death camps and 77 years later see their portraits displayed in Buckingham Palace is very special indeed, and a poignant and fitting testament to their lasting contribution to this country. The Nazis intended there to be no Jews left in Europe, instead these survivors are honoured at the heart of British society.”

The artists were all clearly captivated by their subjects, the portraits all produced during the lockdown, and the problems associated with sittings.  Zoom does not carry the same message as a one-to-one.

Running parallel to the Holocaust exhibition (and included in the entry fee) were three galleries called “Masterpieces from Buckingham Palace including Vermeer, Rembrandt, van Dyck, Rubens, Titian and Canaletto, part of a collection put together by King George III, an art collector who had his (very) good times and (very) bad times, and lost America.  Remarkably amongst the paintings is Rembrandt’s, a Rabbi with a Cap 1635, painted on a rare hardwood. One of the most cultured of monarchs, George started a new royal collection of books (65,000) which were later to form the nucleus of the British Library.

In 1768, George III founded and paid the initial costs of the Royal Academy of Arts.

The plan is that after the exhibitions the portraits will join the Royal Collection as a memorial to the terrible things that happened in the lifetime of our present Queen, Elizabeth II.

From left to right:

Manfred Goldberg painted by Clara Drummond

Lily Ebert painted by Ishbel Myerscough

HRH Prince Charles

Rachel Levy painted by Stuart Pearson Wright

Helen Aronson painted by Paul Benney

Anita Lasker-Wallfisch painted by Peter Kuhfeld

Zigi Shipper painted by Jenny Saville

Arek Hersh painted by Massimiliano Pironti

www.rct.uk/whatson/event/1070553/Seven-Portraits:-Surviving-the-Holocaust

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0013xhz/survivors-portraits-of-the-holocaust

www.rct.uk/visit/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Noel Gilmartin, United Kingdom

I visited this exhibition after watching the BBC documentary - the portraits are truly amazing, full of life and the stories of these people are unimaginable, who are yet full of love and life. Highly recommended.

Ian McGregor , United Kingdom

I thought at first this was out of place in BTN but the editor is right. The exhibition is for seeing and it’s in my diary for Edinburgh.