Holocaust survivor Steven Frank thanks Duchess of Cambridge for 75th anniversary photographs

An 84-year-old Holocaust survivor appeared on This Morning today (27.1.20) and spoke movingly about his experiences in a concentration camp during World War II.

Steven Frank not only recounted his harrowing memories of captivity at the hands of the Nazis, he also thanked Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

The Duchess, 38, had taken a series of photographs to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, one of Nazi Germany’s most notorious camps.

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#Repost @kensingtonroyal • • • • • • As part of the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of end of the Holocaust, The Duchess of Cambridge has taken photographs of two Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren. The first photograph features Steven Frank with his granddaughters, Maggie and Trixie. Alongside his mother and brothers, Steven was sent to Westerbork transit camp then to Theresienstadt. Steven and his brothers were 3 of only 93 children who survived the camp – 15,000 children were sent there. The Duchess also photographed Yvonne Bernstein with her granddaughter Chloe. Yvonne was a hidden child in France, travelling in the care of her aunt and uncle and frequently changing homes and names. The Duchess said: “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 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.” The portraits will form part of a new exhibition opening later this year by @holocaustmemorialdaytrust, Jewish News and @royalphotographicsociety , which will feature 75 images of survivors and their family members. The exhibition will honour the victims of the Holocaust and celebrate the full lives that survivors have built in the UK, whilst inspiring people to consider their own responsibility to remember and share the stories of those who endured Nazi persecution.

A post shared by Catherine Duchess of Cambridge (@cambridgeroyalfamily) on Jan 26, 2020 at 2:17pm PST

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The Duchess uploaded the image of Steven and his two granddaughters onto her official Instagram account.

Beneath the beautiful portrait, the account said: “As part of the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of end of the Holocaust, The Duchess of Cambridge has taken photographs of two Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren.

“The first photograph features Steven Frank with his granddaughters, Maggie and Trixie. Alongside his mother and brothers, Steven was sent to Westerbork transit camp then to Theresienstadt. Steven and his brothers were three of only 93 children who survived the camp – 15,000 children were sent there.

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.

The Duchess said: “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 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.”

The moment wasn’t lost on Steven, who told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield: “I’m there with my two grandchildren, Maggie the older one and Trixie the younger one.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful photograph.

“And the thing I really loved is Maggie’s little teddy bear lying there, so peacefully, in her lap. It’s sort of made the whole photograph.”

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Amsterdam-born Steven survived the Westerbork and Theresienstadt concentration camps.

The Duchess also photographed Yvonne Bernstein with her granddaughter Chloe.

Yvonne was a hidden child in France, travelling in the care of her aunt and uncle and frequently changing homes and names.

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