David Ole Burying The Remains Of Children Analysis

“History doesn't repeat itself, but it does often rhyme.” The Holocaust serve as a great reminder to us all, of something that should not be forgotten. David Olere was an Auschwitz survivor, who strongly believed this. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, on January 19,1902. Later in his life he went on to become an artist, still well-know to this day. On March 2,1943, to January 19,1945, he was interned at Auschwitz. At the death camp he worked as a Sonderkommando. David Olere was responsible for emptying the remains from the ovens of the crematory and removing the bodies from the gas chambers. His experience, just like many holocaust survivors, is too heavy to fully comprehend, to us who can only learn and remember. Through his artwork, which is mainly done forcefully for the SS, he shows the disease, despair and death he experienced

In the image of “David Olere Burying the Remains of Children” we can see him with a shovel in the dirt, as remains stick out from beneath. In the background, there is an SS officer and although at the center of the image holds not much attention. David Olere expression conveys not much emotion, as if what he was doing is nothing horrific. He may have had to this job many times, all emotions of sadness and anger have now been numbed and turned into empty shell of despair and loss. As for the SS officer, he faces a different direction implying guilt towards the situation.The painting colors are in black and white, this reflects the absence of color and life. This image is important because it shows the great extremities, and cruelty the holocaust could reach. By killing the innocent, we are left with great impression of how humans can be stripped away from their humanity, allowing them to immunize themselves to normal human emotions and do unspeakable acts. My reaction towards this image was great shock and feeling