Pat Hutchens spent the final years of her life dedicated to honoring the victims of Auschwitz through her art. In her collection, The Auschwitz Album Revisited, Pat studied 193 black-and-white photographs from the “Auschwitz Album”—the only surviving visual evidence of the selection process at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
While the original photographs taken by an SS officer captured Hungarian Jews as a mass of people deboarding cattle cars, Pat felt a call from God to restore their identity. Where the Nazi lens saw only those “fit” or “unfit” for work, Pat’s portraits recognize the humanity of each individual. Her goal was clear: to create monuments of remembrance through art. Even as she faced a three-year battle with ovarian cancer, she continued to paint until her homegoing in 2014.
Support the Mission
The Jerusalem Connection maintains the Holocaust Education Fund in honor of Jim and Pat Hutchens. This fund ensures that Pat’s mission continues by:
- Distributing Booklets: Sharing The Auschwitz Album Revisited, which includes her artwork and historical explanations.
- Preserving the Collection: Framing and displaying the original pieces.
- Expanding Reach: Printing high-quality giclées for exhibitions in various venues, ensuring the message reaches the public without risk to the original paintings.
Your contribution helps us keep these monuments of remembrance alive for future generations.