Watercolor painting by Simon Jeruchim entitled "Memory of June 6, 1944"

Teenager Simon Jeruchim learned of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France (D-Day) on a shortwave radio. He painted a watercolor depiction of the bombing and burning of a town situated on a river. He titled the piece "Memory of June 6, 1944."

Simon Jeruchim was born in Paris in 1929 to Samuel and Sonia (née Szpiro), Jewish émigrés from Poland. In July 1942, Simon’s parents were able to find hiding places for him and his siblings, but they were arrested and deported to Auschwitz before they could themselves go into hiding. Simon spent almost two years in Normandy. There, a schoolmaster gave him a gift consisting of watercolors and a sketchpad. Simon used them to depict various aspects of his life in Normandy.