In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, held on January 27 each year, Kate Middleton did more than show up to the annual U.K. Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony in Westminster. The Duchess of Cambridge also shared poignant photos of two Holocaust survivors and their grandchildren that she captured for an upcoming exhibition.
Middleton, who has taken some of the formal portraits of her children released to the public, photographed survivors Steven Frank and Yvonne Bernstein and their families at Kensington Palace to mark the somber occasion. And in honor of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Middleton’s photos will be part of a larger show of 75 total images that the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Jewish News, and the Royal Photographic Society have assembled.
“The harrowing atrocities of the Holocaust, which were caused by the most unthinkable evil, will forever lay heavy in our hearts. Yet it is so often through the most unimaginable adversity that the most remarkable people flourish,” read the caption of the official Kensington Royal Instagram page.
“Despite unbelievable trauma at the start of their lives, Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank are two of the most life-affirming people that I have had the privilege to meet,” Middleton continued. “They look back on their experiences with sadness but also with gratitude that they were some of the lucky few to make it through. Their stories will stay with me forever.”
The duchess photographed Frank with his granddaughters, Maggie and Trixie. According to the post, Frank was sent to the Theresienstadt camp where he and his brothers were three of just 93 surviving children. 15,000 children were sent there in total.
The second photo is of Bernstein with her granddaughter Chloe. Yvonne was one of France’s “hidden children,” escaping the Holocaust by “frequently changing homes and names” with her aunt and uncle.
“I wanted to make the portraits deeply personal to Yvonne and Steven—a celebration of family and the life that they have built since they both arrived in Britain in the 1940s,” the duchess added.
“The families brought items of personal significance with them which are included in the photographs. It was a true honour to have been asked to participate in this project and I hope in some way Yvonne and Steven’s memories will be kept alive as they pass the baton to the next generation.”
Frank said in a statement, “I would hope that the people who look at these pictures not only look at the beauty of the photography, but they will also think of the people behind the photos and their families that they lost in the Holocaust.”
The Kensington Royal Instagram account also released photos from today’s ceremony, where Kate and William spoke to survivors of the Holocaust and lit candles in memory of those who lost their lives.
