MY NAME IS SARA
While searching for my lost relatives I uncovered Gestapo transportation papers for my great aunt Marta’s transportation to Auschwitz and my great grandmother Dorothea’s transportation to Theresienstadt. The transportation papers give the name ‘Sara’ as Dorothea and Marta’s middle name.
Sara
In Germany in 1938 the ‘Law on the Alteration of Family and Personal Names’ was passed. This law required German Jews with first names that were not immediately identifiable as Jewish to adopt an additional name—for males this was ‘Israel’ and for females this was ‘Sara.’ ‘Sara’ was also the name given to me by my parents.
Hair
Prisoners had their hair shaved off if they were selected for labour on arrival at a concentration camp. The hair of corpses was shaved off after they were removed from the gas chambers. The hair was sold to German companies for manufacturing fabric, thread, rope and stuffing mattresses.
Hand-printed photograms on resin-coated paper made using the artist’s hair - a plait that had been kept from her childhood. Each print 40 x 30cm, 2018