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  • World War II

    INNOCENCE LOST

    Feb 05, 2019 6 minutes

    IN THE 30-PLUS YEARS that I have been subscribing to World War II, never have I been so moved, to the point of tears, as I was by your Portfolio, “Living Color” (December 2018).

    Brazilian artist Marina Amaral’s colorized photos are striking, but none more so than the identification photos of Auschwitz inmates. In particular, the portrait of 14-year-old Czesława Kwoka is hauntingly beautiful.

    This poor child, subjected to indescribable horrors and knowing the fate that awaited her, still managed to maintain her innocence and dignity. The picture shows both the evil that mankind is capable of and the inherent goodness we are all born with.

    Determined to learn more of Czesława’s story, I did some research. Little is known of her life before arriving at Auschwitz other than that she lived in the Polish countryside with a Catholic family.

    The man who took the photos, himself a prisoner, survived the war and saved many of the prints so the inmates’ stories would not

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