American Photography 36 Winners

Sweet Noise: Love in Wartime

My mother showing her tattoo from Auschwitz. Sweet Noise: Love in Wartime. October 2019. Recognized as a master at spotting decisive moments while revealing the warmth and humanity of his subjects, Max Hirshfeld has created a uniquely compelling book of photographs, text, and letters. Through powerful black-and-white images and intimately lyrical prose, Hirshfeld tells the story of his parents who fell in love in a Polish ghetto, survived Auschwitz, and then endured a lengthy separation shared in hundreds of letters they wrote to each other. Sweet Noise: Love in Wartime features more than forty photographs that document Hirshfeld’s mother’s first return to Poland in forty-six years.

Sweet Noise: Love in Wartime

My mother searching for her aunt's grave in Zawiercie, Poland. Sweet Noise: Love in Wartime. October 2019. Recognized as a master at spotting decisive moments, Max Hirshfeld has created a compelling book of photographs, text and letters. Through powerful black-and-white images and intimate prose, Hirshfeld tells the story of his parents who fell in love in a ghetto, survived Auschwitz, and then endured a lengthy separation documented in hundreds of letters they wrote to each other. Sweet Noise: Love in Wartime features more than forty photographs that document Hirshfeld’s mother’s first return to Poland in forty-six years.