A Whitefield Holocaust survivor is being honoured at the Imperial War Museum North at Trafford Park.

A photography exhibition has opened its doors to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2023 today, Friday, following its inaugural run at a London museum in 2021.  

Now living in Whitefield, Ike Alterman, born in Poland, is one of the four newly photographed survivors, whose pictures are now displayed in the exhibition, which is free to see.  

Ike survived four concentration camps- Blizyn, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald and Theresienstadt – as well as a death march, and shared part of his story with the Bury Times in September last year.

Bury Times: Imperial War Museum exhibit Imperial War Museum exhibit (Image: Newsquest)

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Simon Hill the Royal Photographic Society’s (RPS) President and Ike’s photographer, said: “Portrait photography can be one of the most difficult or one of the easiest genres in which to work.  

“So much depends on the relationship that is formed, often in an instant, between the subject and photographer.

"It has been an immense privilege to meet each of these camp survivors and refugees and to explore with them their unique stories.” 

Bury Times: Imperial War Museum exhibit Imperial War Museum exhibit (Image: Newsquest)

The Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors opened at Media City today with the four new photographs taken by The Royal Photographic Society, alongside the exhibition’s original 60 contemporary portraits. 

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Simon said: “All portrait photographs invite a three-way dialogue - between the subject, the photographer and the viewer.  

Bury Times: Imperial War Museum exhibit Imperial War Museum exhibit (Image: Newsquest)

“I hope that my portraits of these amazing people, pictured with members of their family, will help to encourage a dialogue, with a wider audience, that will ensure their personal stories are never forgotten and subsequent generations can celebrate their incredible perseverance in the face of unimaginable horror and suffering." 

The free exhibit showcases the work of 13 contemporary photographers from the RPS, including photography by RPS Patron, The Princess of Wales.

Bury Times: Imperial War Museum exhibit Imperial War Museum exhibit (Image: Newsquest)

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James Bulgin, the content leader of IWM’s Holocaust Galleries, said: “These remarkable images of survivors and the generations that have followed them are a powerful and important reminder that despite the catastrophic destruction of the Holocaust, Hitler’s intention to destroy all Jewish life and culture across Europe was ultimately unsuccessful.  

“In showing the dynamism and diversity of those that endured and flourished, we are given cause to reflect on the profound significance of what has continued and the tragic extent of what was lost.” 

The Imperial War Museum North will showcase the work until the summer of 2023. 

The powerful photographs aim to capture the special connections between Holocaust survivors and the younger generations of their families, shining a light on the full lives they have lived and a collective responsibility to ensure their stories live on. 

If you have a story tweet @BuryTimes or @Heywoodharriet_ or email Harriet.Heywood@newsquest.co.uk.