On Jan 27, the liberation of Auschwitz, in Poland, liberated by the Russians, is commemorated. Were the photos of Auschwitz 'fake'. I believe they were the real people, in the real place, taken later. Like wedding photos taken a day later. They are not 'fake'. The people and clothes and event were real.
In January the camp was filled with snow, says Anne Frank's childhood friend, and posthumous stepsister, Eva.
Fake? That's too strong a word. But this isn't new knowledge as far as I am concerned. When I visited Auschwitz, on the coach we were shown a film and stills. Our multilingual guide told us (the English translation being less detailed and clear than the Polish and German) that during liberation, the surviving children were weak, some too sick to stand, and distressed, and distressing to look at, unable to stand in an orderly group for photos.
The children spent several weeks or months, at first in recovery centres, and with families. Some did not recover for years, if ever. They were too scared to go out in the light, or go into a street with people in uniforms and dogs.
When enough children were physically and mentally healthier, able to travel, fatter and fitter, as shown in these photo, they were taken back to the camp, dressed in the camp uniforms, to be photographed as a group.
Child survivors of Auschwitz, not on the snowy day of Liberation, but, after being taken by their Russian liberators to recuperate, were returned to put their prison clothes on again for a reunion photo commemorating their liberation.
I took this well known photo from Wikipedia.
This was so the Russians could have a record of the people and the place, and the fact that the Russians had liberated it.
So the photos are of children liberated, but not on the day of liberation. The dates are not what you think, if you think that photo of children was taken on the day of liberation.
My understanding is that it was a later re-enactment or reunion celebrating and recording their release.
As for identifying people and place - everything was chaotic. I have enough trouble trying to identify my family photos taken any time earlier than last week. And those old photos from the fifties and forties.
It has taken years of research to date photos, verify the places they were taken, and the people. The archives have lots of real time photos which were not released postwar, because they show the dead and dying. At first some photos and films were released, but it was quickly found that relatives would go to the cinema and see the dead bodies of family members.
This was not only distressing for the relatives who burst into tears, or fainted or screamed, but also caused chaos and upset to everybody in the cinema. Many of the photos are still not released because they are too distressing for people still alive today and their descendants, more so even than for people in general.
On Facebook, my friend Georgia, from Harrow and Harrow Writers, said she was skeptical about articles from the Mail because years ago their attitude was ....
Useful Websites
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7933509/Anne-Franks-step-sister-claims-photos-showing-liberation-Auschwitz-FAKE.html
Poland
https://www.pot.gov.pl/en/information-about-the-polish-tourism-organisation/polish-tourism-organisation-international-offices
https://poland.pl/tourism/
Krakow
https://www.visitacity.com/en/krakow
https://www.muzeumkrakowa.pl/branches/oskar-schindlers-factory
Auschwitz
https://www.viator.com/Krakow-tourism/d Anne Frank
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/CAICnOLtC0lDLg?
About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
