Auschwitz 80 years since liberation: Ryszard Horowitz’s story of survival and making the American Dream

Auschwitz 80 years since liberation: Ryszard Horowitz’s story of survival and making the American Dream

Famous photographer's journey from surviving the Holocaust to worldwide success

Ryszard Horowitz seen during the liberation of Auschwitz

Video shows the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by the Soviet army in January 1945. Ryszard Horowitz can be seen in the video. (Source: British Movietone via APTN)

Ryszard Horowitz, Niusia Horowitz-Karakulska and Roman Polanski enjoying a day at Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków, with Roman’s uncle. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz )

Ryszard Horowitz behind the barbed wire of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Liberation of the camp in 1945. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.
(Ryszard Horowitz )

Dawid and Regina Horowitz, wedding photo. Kraków, 1932. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz )

Kraków Ghetto, gate one, 1941. Photo from the collection of The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków, Poland.

Niusia Horowitz, Roman Polanski, Ryszard Horowitz, Roma Ligocka in Kraków, 1946. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

The remnants of a wall from the Jewish ghetto in Krakow, Poland. January 11, 2023. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Ryszard Horowitz’s uncles had careers as entertainers before World War Two began. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Steven Spielberg, Ryszard Horowitz, Ania Bogusz and Bronisława Horowitz-Karakulska. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

The Jewish Cemetery in Kraków, photocomposition by Ryszard Horowitz. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Businessman Oskar Schindler speaks about saving lives during the Holocaust of Germany's Third Reich in an interview with United Press International. (Bettmann / Contributor/Getty Images)

The Horowitz Family survivors, Szachne, Sabina, Niusia, Regina, Ryszard and Dawid. Kraków, Poland. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Regina and Dawid Horowitz reunite with Oskar Schindler and Henry Rosner in Vienna. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, in Kraków,1958. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Ryszard Horowitz, aboard the Polish ocean liner "MS Batory," departing for America in 1959. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Ryszard Horowitz photo shoot for Tiffany & Co. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Photocomposer Ryszard Horowitz: One-Man show in Beijing, China. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Ryszard Horowitz receives an honorary doctorate at the University of Warsaw, Poland. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Award-winning digital photo-composition: Allegory (1992) by Ryszard Horowitz. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz. (Ryszard Horowitz)

Emil, Ania and Daniel Horowitz. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.

Ania Bogusz and Ryszard Horowitz, 1974. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.