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My 10 Colourised Photos Show The True Horror Of The Holocaust
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My 10 Colourised Photos Show The True Horror Of The Holocaust

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“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 concentration camp by the Soviets. And to mark this anniversary, I have colorized a selection of historical 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 photo restoration project I have ever worked on. I usually enjoy colorizing photos as the process brings the subjects to life gradually, which is a satisfying experience. Still, with this project, it was upsetting as the colorized photos are so shocking.

These old photos 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 black and white 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 is historical fact and that it’s not that far back in past.

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.

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The photo editing and colorizing 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 color, 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 colorizer. Please visit PhotograFix on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram if you want to check out more.

More info: photogra-fix.com | Facebook | Instagram | twitter.com

The horror of the Holocaust in colour

Children at Auschwitz

Children at Auschwitz, in a still from the Soviet film of the liberation of Auschwitz, January 1945.

Starved men at Ebensee

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This photo shows starved prisoners, nearly dead from hunger, posing in a concentration camp in Ebensee, Austria.

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Ebensee was a sub-camp of the main camp ‘Mauthausen’ near the town of the same name. The camp was reputedly used for “scientific” experiments. It was liberated by the 80th Division of the U.S. Army.

Istvan Reiner

Istvan Reiner, aged 4, smiles for a studio portrait, shortly before being murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp.

Men at Lager Nordhausen

Two staring, emaciated men, liberated inmates of Lager Nordhausen, a Gestapo concentration camp. The camp had from 3,000 to 4,000 inmates. All were maltreated, beaten and starved.

An 18-year-old girl

An 18-year-old Russian girl during the liberation of Dachau concentration camp in 1945. Dachau was the first German concentration camp, opened in 1933.

More than 200,000 people were detained between 1933 and 1945, and 31,591 deaths were declared, most from disease, malnutrition, and suicide. Unlike Auschwitz, Dachau was not explicitly an extermination camp, but conditions were so horrific that hundreds died every week.

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A living skeleton

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This man looks like a living skeleton, one of the many prisoners of the Ebensee concentration camp in Austria.

Burning Bergen-Belsen

My Great Grandfather Charles Martin King Parsons took this photo as he was a chaplain with the British Army and he entered Bergen-Belsen prison camp in April 1945.

The camp was rife with typhus, and once the large wooden huts had been cleared of the surviving prisoners, they were burnt to the ground in May 1945.

Taken by C.M.K. Parsons

Like many people affected by the horrors they saw during the war, my Great Grandfather never really spoke about his experiences at Bergen-Belsen and these photos show why.

He also took a series of photos including the mass graves around Belsen which I did not want to colourise as it didn’t feel like the right thing to do. These photos can be seen here.

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Woman at Bergen-Belsen

One of the victims at Bergen-Belsen was this young woman, her face still bearing the scars of a terrible beating by the SS guards.

Holocaust survivor

It is hard to find any hope when viewing the horrors of these photos, but I wanted to include this one, as there were survivors of the Holocaust, many of whom are still alive today.

This photo shows a young Jewish refugee, rescued from a concentration camp, resting up in a hospital bed in Malmö, southern Sweden in 1945.

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Tom Marshall (PhotograFix)

Tom Marshall (PhotograFix)

Author, Community member

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I am a photo colouriser and restorer, trading as PhotograFix. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the world's leading museums, photo archives and publishers, as well as private commissions and projects I undertake for fun.

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Tom Marshall (PhotograFix)

Tom Marshall (PhotograFix)

Author, Community member

I am a photo colouriser and restorer, trading as PhotograFix. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the world's leading museums, photo archives and publishers, as well as private commissions and projects I undertake for fun.

Titas Burinskas

Titas Burinskas

Moderator, Community member

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This dude right here? He works as a Community Manager at Bored Panda. Has no back-story, cause his spine works just fine. He writes about himself in third-person, and in first-person about others. Fell in love with storytelling and cannot let that love go. Now, he's here to help you make your own story simply beautiful. Secretly makes cute music samples and writes stories in the dark that nobody has ever heard of before.

Read less »

Titas Burinskas

Titas Burinskas

Moderator, Community member

This dude right here? He works as a Community Manager at Bored Panda. Has no back-story, cause his spine works just fine. He writes about himself in third-person, and in first-person about others. Fell in love with storytelling and cannot let that love go. Now, he's here to help you make your own story simply beautiful. Secretly makes cute music samples and writes stories in the dark that nobody has ever heard of before.

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kjorn avatar
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And even more succumb to conspiracy theories which root in antisemitism. And even more like to blame others for the misery in their life, thereby sending hatred to the world. You always hear "this cannot happen again". I am doubtful if mankind has learned its lesson.

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alexandriadouglasrejon avatar
That one marvel fan
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know lots of people are going to disagree we me on this but people should know about the holocaust because it actually happened and lot of people died and even more were affected by it.

tejeda187 avatar
Andres Tejeda
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree, because if we do not learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

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eaglegirl36 avatar
Eagle Girl
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't imagine the tears you shed creating these photos. God Bless your heart and soul xoxo

enquiries_4 avatar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you, it was not an easy one but I'm really pleased with the response which has made it worthwhile.

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kjorn avatar
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And even more succumb to conspiracy theories which root in antisemitism. And even more like to blame others for the misery in their life, thereby sending hatred to the world. You always hear "this cannot happen again". I am doubtful if mankind has learned its lesson.

Load More Replies...
alexandriadouglasrejon avatar
That one marvel fan
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know lots of people are going to disagree we me on this but people should know about the holocaust because it actually happened and lot of people died and even more were affected by it.

tejeda187 avatar
Andres Tejeda
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree, because if we do not learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Load More Replies...
eaglegirl36 avatar
Eagle Girl
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't imagine the tears you shed creating these photos. God Bless your heart and soul xoxo

enquiries_4 avatar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you, it was not an easy one but I'm really pleased with the response which has made it worthwhile.

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