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This Monday marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day — the 75th anniversary of the genocide of six million Jewish people during World War II. In honor of the freedom brought to prisoners that day, Britain’s Royal Family is honoring survivors and remembering the lives lost in a heartfelt new photo series.

Kensington Palace unveiled two new portraits shot by Kate Middleton on Sunday. In them, the Duchess of Cambridge depicts concentration camp survivors Steven Frank, 84, and Yvonne Bernstein with their grandchildren. Frank is joined by his granddaughters Maggie and Trixie Fleet, 15 and 13, and Bernstein is photographed with her granddaughter Chloe Wright, 11.

The families met Middleton at Kensington Palace earlier in the month for the shoot and spent time discussing their lives with her. The photo series, which will culminate in a 75 photo exhibition later this year, is a joint collaboration between the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), Jewish News, and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

“The harrowing atrocities of the Holocaust, which were caused by the most unthinkable evil, will forever lay heavy in our hearts,” Middleton stated alongside behind-the-scenes photos of the photoshoot on Instagram on Monday. “It is so often through the most unimaginable adversity that the most remarkable people flourish.”

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Today is #HolocaustMemorialDay, which takes place each year on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and honours survivors of the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution, and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. Earlier this month, The Duchess of Cambridge met two Holocaust survivors, Steven Frank and Yvonne Bernstein, as she took photographs for a project by @holocaustmemorialdaytrust, Jewish News and @royalphotographicsociety to mark 75 years since the end of the Holocaust. The Duchess’s photographs will be included in an exhibition of 75 images of survivors and their family members, which will open later this year. “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. 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. 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 of Cambridge Photographs © Kensington Palace

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jan 27, 2020 at 2:07am PST

Middleton felt that depicting the series would shed light on the “unbelievable trauma” that these families experienced. She also said that “Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank are two of the most life-affirming people that I have had the privilege to meet.”

Kensington Palace gave more insight into the photo series on their official social media on Monday, giving followers a look into the lives of Frank and Bernstein. As a child, Frank was sent to Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands, then to the Nazi-founded Theresienstadt Ghetto in German-occupied Czechoslovakia. “Steven and his brothers were 3 of only 93 children who survived the camp – 15,000 children were sent there,” the posts explain. Accompanying Frank in his photo is a cooking pot held onto by his mother during their days in the camps. His father was killed in Auschwitz.

Bernstein, as a child, was hidden in France and traveled with her aunt and uncle, changing names and where they called home as often as they could. She brought a brooch and an ID card from 1939, stamped with the letter ‘J’ for Jewish, for her photo. Her uncle was killed in Auschwitz.

“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,” Middleton continued alongside her portraits. The forthcoming series will explore the lives the 75 survivors have built around the United Kingdom in the decades since their liberation.   

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As part of the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the 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. Portraits ©The Duchess of Cambridge

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jan 26, 2020 at 2:05pm PST

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