How many Holocaust survivors are alive? Prince Charles’ project explained - and what BBC2 documentary is about

Arek Hersh and Lily Ebert are among the survivors featured in the programme filmed at Buckingham Palace
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Prince of Wales has hailed portraits of some of the nation’s last remaining Holocaust survivors as a “powerful testament” to their lived experience.

Charles commissioned the paintings of the elderly men and women to stand as a lasting reminder of the horrors of the Nazi regime.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was left moved after meeting Lily Ebert who showed the prince her concentration camp tattoo and angel pendant that stayed with her as she survived Auschwitz.

Among the other survivors is Arek Hersh who aged 11 was taken to his first concentration camp and astonishingly saved his own life after crossing into a different group classed as ‘fitter’ while guards weren’t looking.

The prince’s new project is the subject of a moving documentary which is broadcast tonight (27 January) with scenes filmed at the Queen’s Gallery inside Buckingham Palace (27 January).

Here’s all you need to know.

‘Seven Portraits: Surviving the Holocaust’ were commissioned by the Prince of Wales to pay tribute to Holocaust survivors (image: PA)‘Seven Portraits: Surviving the Holocaust’ were commissioned by the Prince of Wales to pay tribute to Holocaust survivors (image: PA)
‘Seven Portraits: Surviving the Holocaust’ were commissioned by the Prince of Wales to pay tribute to Holocaust survivors (image: PA)

Where can I watch the documentary?

The BBC Two documentary, Survivors: Portraits of the Holocaust, will be screened on January 27.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The hour-long programme marks Holocaust Memorial Day and will remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution.

How many Holocaust survivors are still left? 

Prince Charles, who is patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, commissioned portraits of seven of the last remaining Holocaust survirors, which were unveiled at the Queen’s Gallery in London.

They survivors are Lily Ebert, Manfred Goldberg, Arek Hersh, Helen Aronson, Anita Lasker Wallfisch, Rachel Levy and Zigi Shipper.

The prince called on the talents of seven acclaimed artists involved to take part in the year-long project: Paul Benney, Ishbel Myerscough, Clara Drummond, Massimiliano Pironti, Peter Kuhfeld, Stuart Pearson Wright and Jenny Saville.

Clara Drummond and Manfred Goldberg (image: BBC/Angel Li)Clara Drummond and Manfred Goldberg (image: BBC/Angel Li)
Clara Drummond and Manfred Goldberg (image: BBC/Angel Li)

What can viewers expect to see in the documentary?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Viewers can expect to be moved by Lily Ebert, 98, who showed the future king her angel pendant, which stayed with her throughout Auschwitz.

In July 1944, a 20-year-old Mrs Ebert and her family – mother and five siblings – were transported to Auschwitz. Her parent and some of her siblings were condemned to death in the gas chamber after encountering the infamous Josef Mengele, notorious for his experiments on those in the camp, while the remaining family members were put to work.

Speaking about her pendant she said: “This necklace is very special. It went through Auschwitz and survived with me. Auschwitz took everything, even the golden teeth they took off people. But this survived.

“I put it in the heel of my shoe but the heel wore out so … I put it every day in the piece of bread that we got to eat. So that is the story of it. I was five years old when I got it from my mother for my birthday.

Lily Ebert (image: BBC /Tom Hayward)Lily Ebert (image: BBC /Tom Hayward)
Lily Ebert (image: BBC /Tom Hayward)
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“My mother did not survive. My little brother and little sister did not survive.

“They arrived and they saw Dr Mengele, he took them straight away. I have worn my necklace every day since I survived.”

She also rolled up the sleeve of her jacket to reveal the tattoo on her left forearm A-10572 – A for Auschwitz, 10 her block number and 572 her prisoner number.

Later her great-grandson, Dov Forman, who has written a book with Mrs Ebert about her experience, Lily’s Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz And Found The Strength to Live, said of the encounter with Charles: “The prince was very, very moved.”

What did Prince Charles say to Lily?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She told the prince during the event held on Monday: “Meeting you, it is for everyone who lost their lives,” and Charles replied: “But it is a greater privilege for me,” and touched her shoulder.

In the foreword for a catalogue accompanying the exhibition, Charles wrote we are all “responsible for one another, for our collective history”.

The Prince of Wales meets Holocaust survivor Arek Hersh as he attends an exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace (image: PA)The Prince of Wales meets Holocaust survivor Arek Hersh as he attends an exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace (image: PA)
The Prince of Wales meets Holocaust survivor Arek Hersh as he attends an exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace (image: PA)

He added: “One of the starkest reminders of this was the Holocaust, when a third of Europe’s Jews were brutally murdered by the Nazi regime as it sought to extinguish not just the Jewish people, but Judaism.

“Seven portraits. Seven faces. Each a survivor of the horrors of those years, who sought refuge and a home in Britain after the war, becoming an integral part of the fabric of our nation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“However, these portraits represent something far greater than seven remarkable individuals. They stand as a living memorial to the six million innocent men, women, and children whose stories will never be told, whose portraits will never be painted.”

The prince went on to say about the portraits: “They stand as a permanent reminder for our generation – and indeed, to future generations – of the depths of depravity and evil humankind can fall to when reason, compassion and truth are abandoned.”

Helen Aronson  (image: BBC/Tom Hayward)Helen Aronson  (image: BBC/Tom Hayward)
Helen Aronson (image: BBC/Tom Hayward)

Among the other survivors whose portraits are hung in the gallery is Helen Aronson.

With her mother and brother, they were among a group of around 750 people liberated from a Nazi-run ghetto in Poland out of 250,000 people sent there.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The family had been separated from her father who had been murdered by the Nazis.

Today she shares her experiences with groups across the country, and she said about her painting: “The portrait was just excellent, absolutely true to life. It has been such an experience.

“I talked to the prince about life in the concentration camp and the exterminations. It is something that I didn’t talk about for a long time but I have gone on to have a very happy life. My family is everything to me.

“It has been a very special and unforgettable day.”

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.