In 2005, Bill Aron 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.

The World in Front of Me is presented by Jay and Gretchen Stein, with generous support from the Knapp Family Foundation, the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation in Honor of Alan Bloch, Scott and Dianne Einhorn, The Karetsky Family, and Michael and Corie Koss.

Image Credit: Jack Pariser, Bill Aron.