The Holocaust is a tragedy of such magnitude
that it can be hard to
comprehend how it affected individuals
About the Project
Photographer Evvy Eisen wanted to portray the Holocaust on a human level to communicate its personal as
well as
historical significance. She took portraits of over 200 Holocaust Survivors in the United States and
Europe,
collected their personal testimonies.
She created the Multiply by Six Million Project to unify the three major facets of her work -
Survivor
Research Archive, Exhibit and Short Film - and make them accessible for viewing and
research. Seeing
Survivor's portraits and reading their moving testimonies presents them as individuals with unique
thoughts and
experiences instead of as nameless members of a massive group.
Eisen's work has been exhibited in the US and Europe. It is in the permanent collections of the United
States
Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris. The Multiply by Six Million
exhibit was
presented with Michael Kenna's Impossible
to
Forget: The Nazi Camps Fifty Years After.
Photographer's statement
I met with each survivor several times to get to know them and learn about their life before, during and
after
the war. I photographed them in their home or a place they chose encouraging them to include objects of
personal
significance in their portrait. Each person looked into the lens of my camera so that their eyes
communicate
directly with the photo’s viewer. I gave each Survivor a copy of their portrait.
I used black and white film, a medium format camera and natural light. I did all darkroom work, creating
individual, fine art, silver gelatin prints. The photographs were not digitally manipulated in any way.
I did not accept compensation for my work or reimbursement for any of my expenses. I received limited
grant
support to pay those worked on preparation of exhibits and creation of the film.
Survivor Research Archive
The Survivor Research Archive is the full collection of portraits taken by Evvy Eisen paired with texts
written by survivors specifically for this project. It includes the complete collection of portraits and
survivors' texts organized by categories of each person's wartime experiences.
Because many survivors were subjected to multiple traumas it is only by reading their full narratives
that the impact of the loss they and their families experienced can be understood.
Exhibit
This exhibit shows people caught in a dark web of hatred and bigotry. It reveals the
power of human courage and creativity in the most desperate circumstances.
- Evvy Eisen
The Multiply by Six Million exhibit includes 38 portraits Evvy took of survivors paired with condensed
versions of the texts each wrote for this project. It is available to view on this site and as an
in-person traveling exhibit. Both are sponsored by Exhibit Envoy.
Film
This is important.
This is what happened to me and to
my family.
It should not be forgotten
- Voices of Survivors Introducing Film
This short film combines Evvy's photographs and the voices of survivors recounting moving passages from
their personal stories. It was premiered on the Sundance TV channel.
In the Words of Survivors
"When I spoke of the horrors that had taken place no one believed me. So, I found refuge in
silence, I never mentioned it. But every night in my dreams, I went back to Auschwitz."
Gabriel Benichou
"We had to be counted in the courtyard every morning no matter how we felt, no matter what
the weather, rain or cold or snow or wind. Sometimes the count lasted for hours until they got it right.
But it could never be right because some of us had already died."
Leah Laskowski
