A former British prisoner of war in Auschwitz has described how he received a cherished oil painting of his sweetheart, painted from a black and white photograph by a Jewish prisoner in the camp.
Welsh-born Bryn Roberts, now 92, who lives in Lyme Regis, was a labourer in Auschwitz when he received a picture postcard of his girlfriend Peggy Gullup through the Red Cross.
A Polish POW saw the picture and offered to have it painted, as Jewish prisoners worked in the camp making copies of stolen artworks. The picture came back two weeks later, a colour oil painting, in the correct shade of Peggy's actual jumper, even though the postcard was in black and white.
Mr Roberts' cousin Peter Lewis submitted the story of the painting to the Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects, which looked at artefacts in the British Museum. Listeners were invited to suggest their own objects to map world history. The story thrilled producers, who made a one-off documentary about Mr Roberts' painting, broadcast this week on Radio 4.
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