80 Years After Auschwitz: The Project Keeping Holocaust Names Alive

Eighty years have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz. As the world marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day with ceremonies and memorials, one particularly moving initiative stands out — that of photographer Shani Loya.

For the past eight years, Loya has been photographing children named after relatives who either perished in, or survived, the Holocaust. Next to each portrait appears the life story of the relative whose name the child bears.

Passing Memory to Future Generations

“The idea came to me while talking to a friend who named her son after her mother’s brother, a Holocaust survivor,” Loya recalls.
“It’s not a common or fashionable name in Israel today, and when she told me the story, I was deeply moved. That was the spark for this project.”

Her project now features 25 children, each paired with an emotional and powerful story.

“Most of the children are named after survivors their parents knew,” she explains, “but some are named after relatives who were murdered. I deliberately photograph them up close with a plain background — no scenery, or distractions — because I want all the attention focused on the faces of the next generation.”

What began as Loya’s final college project has now accompanied her for nearly a decade.

“People think that today — 80 years later, no one names their children after Holocaust survivors,” she says. “Maybe because the names sound old-fashioned or distant. But when you actually look around, you realize that’s not true at all. Across all segments of Israeli society, you find children named proudly after family members from that period.

“I even met someone who legally changed her surname — and her children’s surname, to her grandfather’s family name. Her grandfather, who died at 92, always dreamed that his family name would be carried on as a victory over the Nazis. But since he only had daughters, the name wasn’t passed down. As his eldest granddaughter, she decided to take his name herself. He was incredibly moved.”

Honoring Memory Through Portraits

For several years now, photographer Shani Loya has specialized in multigenerational family portraits, but alongside this work, her “One Name” project continues to accompany her.

“I feel this is a way to ensure these people are remembered in the future,” she says. “A way to preserve their legacy.” Loya primarily photographs children up to age eight for this project.

“Next to every name, I include the child’s portrait and write the story of the person they’re named after,” she explains. “It’s incredibly moving to hear parents describe how much their child resembles or reminds them of that relative. And what’s most striking is the pride in their voices when they say the name. Sometimes the name really stands out in their community — but no one regrets it. Even the children tell me they love having such a meaningful name.”

Stories That Touched the Photographer

Loya shares several stories that particularly moved her.

One is the story of David Yishai, a four-and-a-half-year-old boy named after two of his great-grandfathers — Nachman David Kaufman (his father’s grandfather) and David Strauss (his mother’s grandfather). His second name, Yishai, is an acronym formed from the names of David Strauss’s brother Yehuda (murdered shortly before the war ended) and David’s sons Shaul and Yosef — ensuring their memory lives on forever.

Another story is that of Goni Rachel, a two-year-old named after her great-grandmother Rachel Friedman (née Rozenwasser). Rachel was the second of seven siblings in the Carpathian region of Czechoslovakia. Most of her family was sent to the gas chambers, but three of her brothers miraculously survived and reunited after the war. They eventually immigrated to Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov.

Goni Rachel’s mother, Daphne, gave birth just six weeks after Yom HaShoah. During her pregnancy, she encountered the “One Name” project and decided, inspired by it, to name her daughter after her grandmother, Rachel.

A Future Exhibition

What does Loya plan to do with the photos and stories she has collected?

“I hope the project will become a full exhibition showcasing all the portraits, each accompanied by the life story of the relative the child is named after. I also hope to reach more families in Israel and abroad — to give a platform to the story of each namesake and each family. After all, each of these stories is part of the greater story of the Jewish people.”