Holocaust survivor brings memories to life on canvas

[Behind the Aegis]

A 92-year-old Holocaust survivor who lived through five concentration camps has brought his memories to life in a new exhibition in Sydney.

As a holocaust survivor, Harry Fransman suffered nightmares for years.

But three years ago he decided to turn those nightmares into art.

"I woke up and suddenly I had a feeling of inspiration that I wanted to get some artists to put my life story on canvas. So I found three artists and that's what I achieved," Mr Fransman said.

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[ReRe]

1. I know where Hell is...

... we're in it. I don't know how he has lived so long with such nightmares. Poor thing. And it seems like time is slipping into the reverse. More and more atrocities somewhere on the earth, and many right here in the US. Even though it was sad, thanks for sharing, BtA.

[AverageJoe90]

2. Thanks for the post, BtA.

Indeed, the Holocaust may just have been THE most tragic period in modern history.....

May Mr. Fransman one day find peace.

[DFW]

3. I know an Auschwitz survivor, but he never talked about his experience while he could.

He was quite a wild character, living modestly in a small house in Den Haag, making a fortune trading antiquities starting in the 1960s, just for the fun of it and because he could. He was in Auschwitz as a child, was freed after breaking into his teens. He married a non-Jewish Austrian woman who was also a lot of fun to talk to, and tolerated his many adventures with younger women while on the road (at least so I heard).

He showed off the number tattooed on his arm, but never discussed his time there. A soccer fanatic later on in life, he accompanied the Dutch national team once to a game in Poland, and made a side trip to go back to Auschwitz.

I asked why in the world would he ever want to go back there?

He said he wanted to stand at the gates and say, "I'm still here, and you're not." And so he did.

Now in his nineties, what's left of his mind is locked up in Alzheimer's disease, and there will be no more stories. It's a shame, because he surely would have had plenty to tell, had he wanted to.