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Survivor: A Portrait of the Survivors of the Holocaust
Over the course of five years, award-winning photographer Harry Borden has travelled the globe photographing survivors of the Holocaust. The people featured vary in age, gender and nationality, but are tied together by their experience and survival of one of the darkest moments in human history.
Each memorable photograph is accompanied by a handwritten note from the sitter, ranging from poems, to memories, to hopes for the future, creating a strong sense of intimacy between sitter and reader. This intimacy is amplified by the home settings of many of the photographs, along with the photographer's use of available light at each scene. At the end of the book is a section providing additional information about each subject, detailing how and what they survived.
Thought-provoking, moving and touching, with a foreword by Man Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jacobson, this book conveys the dignity and humanity of each subject's character. Survivor is a unique and powerful testimony of what it is to live with memories of the Holocaust.
Each memorable photograph is accompanied by a handwritten note from the sitter, ranging from poems, to memories, to hopes for the future, creating a strong sense of intimacy between sitter and reader. This intimacy is amplified by the home settings of many of the photographs, along with the photographer's use of available light at each scene. At the end of the book is a section providing additional information about each subject, detailing how and what they survived.
Thought-provoking, moving and touching, with a foreword by Man Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jacobson, this book conveys the dignity and humanity of each subject's character. Survivor is a unique and powerful testimony of what it is to live with memories of the Holocaust.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published April 11, 2017
3 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Harry Borden
4 books4 followersHarry Borden is one of the UK’s finest portrait photographers and his work has appeared in many of the world’s foremost publications including The New Yorker, Vogue and Time.
He won prizes at the World Press Photo awards (1997 and 1999) and was a judge in the contest in 2010 and 2011.
In 2005 he had his first solo show at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the organisation currently have 116 of his prints in their archive.
In 2014 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society.
In January 2017, his book ‘Survivor: A Portrait of the Survivors of the Holocaust’, was published by Octopus.
Alain de Botton declared it, "A masterpiece and deeply moving” and Martin Parr said, “"something really to behold, a substantial project of some real depth and authority. By flicking through the pages you can sense the amount of research, patience and hard work that has been invested. The portraits, as always with Borden are simple, effective and very telling."
He won prizes at the World Press Photo awards (1997 and 1999) and was a judge in the contest in 2010 and 2011.
In 2005 he had his first solo show at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the organisation currently have 116 of his prints in their archive.
In 2014 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society.
In January 2017, his book ‘Survivor: A Portrait of the Survivors of the Holocaust’, was published by Octopus.
Alain de Botton declared it, "A masterpiece and deeply moving” and Martin Parr said, “"something really to behold, a substantial project of some real depth and authority. By flicking through the pages you can sense the amount of research, patience and hard work that has been invested. The portraits, as always with Borden are simple, effective and very telling."
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 15, 2018
Photographer Harry Borden spent five years travelling the world, photographing survivors of the Holocaust. Each sitter was also asked to write a brief message to accompany their portrait. These passages range from tributes to those who perished, to expressions of thanks for those who saved them; from memories of time spent in concentration camps, to messages of hope for the future. The one that hit me most was a poem shared by Lidia Vago, entitled, In Limbo:
In the black hole of our
Planet Earth
Auschwitz
They drove me out
when it ceased to be;
Yet who will drive
it out of me?
It still exists.
Only death will be
my exorcist.
Most of the sitters are pictured in their own home; some with Auschwitz tattoos still branding their skin. Visually, most of the portraits aren't anything particularly remarkable; they're just normal people in normal, domestic surroundings. But that is, in fact, the project's beauty. By seeing survivors' faces, learning their names, and reading their words in their own handwriting, they stop being mere statistics. Instead, they regain their individual humanity, helping to relay their legacies to those of us who can scarcely even imagine what they went through. It's a simple yet highly effective way to preserve them and their histories, for the sake of our collective future.
In the black hole of our
Planet Earth
Auschwitz
They drove me out
when it ceased to be;
Yet who will drive
it out of me?
It still exists.
Only death will be
my exorcist.
Most of the sitters are pictured in their own home; some with Auschwitz tattoos still branding their skin. Visually, most of the portraits aren't anything particularly remarkable; they're just normal people in normal, domestic surroundings. But that is, in fact, the project's beauty. By seeing survivors' faces, learning their names, and reading their words in their own handwriting, they stop being mere statistics. Instead, they regain their individual humanity, helping to relay their legacies to those of us who can scarcely even imagine what they went through. It's a simple yet highly effective way to preserve them and their histories, for the sake of our collective future.
November 11, 2020
not sure what to rate this. not even sure whether to rate this at all. very powerful work of art. reminds me of the holocaust literature of the 1960s, except obviously more visual. excellent
November 2, 2019
The photographs are a lasting memory of a dark time. The photographers addition if written notes from the sitters or their relatives was a simple but powerful.
I found the portraits carefully crafted and found myself trying to imagine the horrors that the sitters had seen.
I found the portraits carefully crafted and found myself trying to imagine the horrors that the sitters had seen.
September 6, 2018
Remarkably sobering. A series of portraits accompanied by handwritten notes by the survivors themselves. Biographies of each individual included in appendix.
Read
April 25, 2017Review to come.
January 4, 2018
This is a remarkable book. The photography is beautifully presented and the accompanying handwritten notes are simple and breathtaking. The introduction is a must so that you understand the photographers intent. The book is large with very thick pages and high-quality images. There are so many survivors featured. I can't seem to find a number though.
At the end of the book is a short history of each person featured in the book. Where they were born, who their parents and siblings were, what they experienced during the Holocaust, how they survived, what they did afterward, who they married, their children and grandchildren. The histories are so poignant. Especially when you go back and look at the portrait and accompanying note.
If you are interested in a sampling, you can visit this link, scroll down and see a few of the portraits and notes: http://harryborden.co.uk/survivors/
I "read" the book in one day and couldn't put it down. Up until I got to the histories at the back. I've been reading those slowly and am not finished yet. They are so sad and I can only handle a few at a time.
This is a must-read for everyone.
At the end of the book is a short history of each person featured in the book. Where they were born, who their parents and siblings were, what they experienced during the Holocaust, how they survived, what they did afterward, who they married, their children and grandchildren. The histories are so poignant. Especially when you go back and look at the portrait and accompanying note.
If you are interested in a sampling, you can visit this link, scroll down and see a few of the portraits and notes: http://harryborden.co.uk/survivors/
I "read" the book in one day and couldn't put it down. Up until I got to the histories at the back. I've been reading those slowly and am not finished yet. They are so sad and I can only handle a few at a time.
This is a must-read for everyone.
December 4, 2018
A deceptively powerful and moving book, it is primarily a book of portraits that the author took over a period of five years. Each is a photo of a Holocaust survivor, and each is accompanied by a simple statement from each sitter. At the back, there is a description of each person - where they grew up, and what they experience during the war, and their life other. Haunting small stories that made me quite teary, especially the stories from those survivors who were children at the time.
It is especially poignant as the years go by, as more survivors die and so many of their stories will be lost to read such a book.
It is especially poignant as the years go by, as more survivors die and so many of their stories will be lost to read such a book.
November 27, 2017
Absolutely powerful and moving. The presentation of each person's picture with their own handwritten comment is simply beautiful. I highly recommend this collected biographies. At the end of the portrait section there is an entry for each person that gives more details about their life.
February 12, 2017
Emotional and thought provoking
A facinating insight into the lives and memories of those that survived the atrocities of the Holocaust. May their memories live on.
A facinating insight into the lives and memories of those that survived the atrocities of the Holocaust. May their memories live on.
September 21, 2017
The pictures are stunning. The thoughts and the background of what these people went through very moving.
February 3, 2020
Phenomenal.
December 28, 2022
shares images of people that crazed loons aspired to remove from society, each shares some comments, heart-rending. at end biographies for each.
August 24, 2024
A somber collection of portraits. You’ll see only one smiling face here. The captions and brief biographies are heart wrenching and poignant.
February 26, 2026
❤️ Favorite.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews