Thread by @marinamaral2

I think @FacesAuschwitz is a great example to talk about the power of the internet and social media when they are used for good.

This will be a thread...

@FacesAuschwitz 1. A little over a year ago, I had the idea to restore some "registration" photos of Auschwitz victims. The preserved photos, 31,969 of men and 6,947 of women, constitute only a fraction of a vast Nazi photo archive destroyed during the camp evacuation in January 1945.

@FacesAuschwitz 2. This is the first photo I colorized. When I saw people calling the girl "Czeslawa Kwoka" (her name), not "a prisoner of Auschwitz" I understood that these people need to be known by their names, not by the numbers tattooed on their arms.

This then became FOA's core.

@FacesAuschwitz 3. To make this project work and grow, I needed help. And it was on Twitter, or thanks to the internet, that I found the help I needed.

I found volunteers like @SeamusBellamy, @waitmanb, @maria_zalewska and @McKayMSmith who wanted to donate their time and/or skills.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith 4. I started and developed a relationship with the @AuschwitzMuseum, because without them and without all the support they gave us this project would not exist.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum 5. I also found the wonderful people at @wordpressdotcom who wanted to build and sponsor our website - which is a crucial part of this whole thing.

They also created our logo.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom 6. Thanks to the Internet, after the project was officially launched, their personal stories were then being discussed on TV, websites, and newspapers from several different parts of the world.

Their names were being mentioned.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom 7. A few days later, I received an email from @NOCreative_. He was offering his skills as a talented video producer.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ 8. On the same week, Michael Frank, a businessman from NY saw an article on the New York Post. He then reached out to me and we spent two hours on the phone talking about how passionate we are about this project.

He also wanted to help.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ 9. For some reason, this group of very distinct people decided to join forces and do something meaningful.

Just a few months after the team was established (remember, via social media), we decided to go to Poland.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ 10. We wanted to film a video there.

The "video" has become a documentary with a story that makes me want to cry every time I think about the chain of events that led us to the person that we found and the story we are going to tell.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ 11. It's a self-funded documentary; a passion project. We filmed in Poland, in the US, and in England.

And I decided to share the full story now because in a few weeks we will be in Auschwitz again, on an emotional trip, filming and finishing a story that was born here.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ 12. That makes me emotional and grateful for each person who supported us since the beginning.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ 13. I am grateful to have a space in which so many wonderful things can happen, where we can try to learn from tragedy, where we can write beautiful stories and also try to make sure that others are never forgotten.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ Faces of Auschwitz was never about me or my work. It's about the millions of people who had their lives destroyed or deeply affected, as well as all those who came together to make this project possible - including you.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ If you want to read the thread: ⚡️ “Faces of Auschwitz”

twitter.com/i/moments/1159…

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ And this is not the end of the project. I want to continue colorizing the photos and we want to continue telling the stories.

The documentary is just the beginning of something bigger. :) Thank you.

@FacesAuschwitz @SeamusBellamy @waitmanb @maria_zalewska @McKayMSmith @AuschwitzMuseum @wordpressdotcom @NOCreative_ Ps: I will never downplay or try to replace the huge value of the original photographs.

They are powerful, essential, and I deeply, deeply admire the courage of those who took and later saved them; Wilhelm Brasse in special.