Marissa Alper’s ongoing photography series focuses on the beauty of the lives created by those who survived the Holocaust, with parallels to today’s rise of fascism in the United States.

For many Holocaust survivors and their descendants, Hitler’s atrocities are a haunting specter. Telling and recording their stories is crucial to preserving their memories and helping generations forward learn from history’s mistakes. This holds true for photographer Marissa Alper, who has been photographing her grandmother and other Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren.

Alper’s portraits, while cast in the shadow of atrocity, celebrate life and perseverance and focus on the strength and beauty of those who escaped and lived on. The survivors are often smiling, framed by warm light, presenting their grandchildren as proof of survival.

Yet Alper's photographs also sit within the increasingly grim haze of Trump’s America. For Alper, today’s political climate feels eerily reminiscent of the emergence of Fascism in Hitler’s Germany (ICE camps and forced hysterectomies, demonizing BLM protestors, systemic racism, and Trump’s refusal to accept potential election results…)
“It feels like we didn’t learn from the past,” writes Alper, “and we’re letting those who survived down.”

Alper’s series is currently on hold to protect the health and safety of the survivors. We caught up to discuss its current state and dig deeper into the story behind the work.

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Marissa Alper