Thriving Survivors

In 2005, Bill was approached by Marilyn Harran of Chapman University’s Holocaust Studies department to photograph 100 members of the 1939 Society. The project of oral histories and portraits was named The Indestructible Spirit. The 1939 Society was formed in Los Angeles in 1952 by fourteen survivors of the Holocaust.

The support group evolved to become an organization dedicated to memorialization and education. Breaking stereotypes of previous survivor portraiture, Bill was instructed to photograph 1939 Society members as vibrant, successful people full of life. Looking for a stylistic choice that would support this vision, Bill began to photograph in color for the first time in his career. The project not only captured a community of people who had not just survived, but thrived. Hasia Diner, professor emeritus of American Jewish History at New York University joins us to provide historical background on memorialization after the Holocaust.

About “The World in Front of Me”: In the summer of 2025, journalist and writer Ruth Andrew Ellenson sat down with famed photographer Bill Aron, and recorded more than 12 hours of interviews. For nearly 50 years, Bill traveled the world, photographing Jewish communities as near as his home of Los Angeles and as far away as the Soviet Union. From the American South to Cuba, from New York to Jerusalem, Bill captured it all. This series reveals never before heard stories from the artist himself.

Presented by The American Jewish Historical Society. You can find “The World in Front of Me” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.