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Holocaust survivor brings memories to life on canvas

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

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One of the works depicting Harry Fransman's experiences.

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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Harry Fransman grew up in the Netherlands and said his childhood was a happy one.

"Hate and anti-Semitism did not exist in Holland,” he said. “We heard about what happened in Germany eventually and my mother used to say, ‘that could never happen in the Netherlands’."

But it did.

Mr Fransman was 19 when the Germans invaded The Netherlands in 1940.

As a Jewish man, he was rounded up by the Nazis and sent away by rail.

He didn't know then that his parents would die in a concentration camp, and some of his siblings would be killed.

"My father took me to the station and I have a photo of my mum with a white apron on and waving a hankie and it was the last time I saw my mum," Mr Fransman said.

"I never thought she would die in a gas chamber two years later."

Mr Fransman said he lived through five concentration camps, including the notorious Auschwitz.

"I was there for three years; three years of misery, hunger.  It is very hard to believe, you can tell the stories of the Holocaust but it has always been worse than we can explain."

Mr Fransman eventually escaped, and arrived in Australia in 1949. But it wasn't until many years later that he decided to collaborate with three Australian artists to create artwork depicting his experiences during the Holocaust.

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The paintings from the collection show Harry's life in the concentration camps, as well as his time on the infamous death marches.

Mr Fransman said seeing the paintings had reminded him of how fortunate he was to survive.

"This all came from my memory," Mr Fransman said.

"I had 13 times that I was on the verge of dying and I survived. 

"Heaven stood by me."


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: SBS


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