Color Him Alive

On By granonineIn 100 word challenge, Friday Fictioneers
Copyright-Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

“Oma, who is this man in the picture?” Benjamin always, always had question.

“Benjy, it is my son, your father, Schlomo.”

“Where is he? I would like seeing my father.”

“Ach, Benjy, your papa is with God. Someday you will see him.”

“But why? What happened?”

Oma’s eyes filled with tears. Always, Benjy’s question brought tears.

“He died in one of the camps during the war, Benjy. Because he had a menorah. God knows how he got it.”

‘May I color him, Oma?”

” Benjy, color him alive.” Benjy set to work while Oma went to answer the telephone.

44 thoughts on “Color Him Alive”

    2. michaelkreger

      When I visited Auschwitz two weeks ago for the 75th anniversary, a few people had brought their children…maybe seven or eight years old. I hope those children grasped the enormity of the site. I started reading books about the Holocaust when I was eight years old, and I remember those books whenever I see such a place.

      All that to say, “old enough to understand” is earlier than we sometimes think.

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  13. GHLearner

    A beautiful, sad and moving story. I wonder if you have heard about Marina Amaral and Faces of Auschwitz? She is a Brazilian artist who colours the registration photos of Auschwitz prisoners to bring them closer to us. It is heartbreaking how effective this is when you no longer look at pale black-and-white pictures but ‘alive’ faces, people who could be our neighbours, friends, family…
    Here: https://facesofauschwitz.com/ , you can also learn the stories of the people pictured.

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    1. I had never heard of Marina Amaral. Thank you so much for telling me about her and providing the link;Those black and white faces have always made me so sad. Adding the color does indeed make them more real, and even more sad. A terrible, terrible time in our world.

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      1. GHLearner

        Yes indes. The fear in her eyes and the wounds in her face break my heart every time I look at her picture. The Auschwitz Museum posts pictures of victims and a brief summary on Twitter every day.

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      2. Michael Kreger is my son. He has inherited a love of history that seems to be in the DNA of our family. And he was just there, at Auschwitz, for the 75th anniversary of the liberation. Can you imagine, 75 years ago–my husband was just a baby, and I wasn’t born yet. A lifetime ago.

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