25 January 2013 Last updated at 14:56

Children of the Holocaust: their words, their worlds

This picture by Irina Gliudza is part of a collection by seven young artists tasked with illustrating poems written by children in the Terezin, or Theresienstadt, concentration camp in Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). Barbed wire slowly turns into a beautiful rose stem, depicting life defeating death. This image of hope is strengthened by the statement "I fiori possono sbocciare anche dietro il filo spinato", meaning flowers can blossom even behind barbed wire.

Being imprisoned in a concentration camp did not deprive the children of their imaginations. In this tribute to escapism, artist Claudio Fabbro shows a colourful train fleeing towards freedom. But a macabre reminder lies at the bottom of the picture: a camp barrack and a smoking chimney - so similar to the train's but representing death, instead of liberation.

"Living in the Camp was like being locked in a snow globe, completely isolated from the rest of the world," explains artist Matteo Di Iorio, who imagined Terezin as a parallel reality. "The bird flying over the globe represents the hope of future freedom," he adds.

Illustration of a human figure made of stripes, tree branches and leaves (Photo: Fabrica)

The stripes of the prisoners' uniforms look like the bars of a prison cell. But artist Carmen Rosa Lopez imagined them as tree branches with budding green leaves growing from them. "If you look carefully," says the artist, "the horror of the camp doesn't destroy life; branches and leaves grow from the trunks."

Illustration of a rocking horse behind prison bars, with the name "Terezin" at the top. (Photo: Fabrica)

A rocking horse is a symbol of childhood, play and movement. But stuck behind the bars of a concentration camp, it has to remain completely still, against its nature, as depicted here by Anna Kulachek.

This image is another reference to flowers and the beauty of nature, with the hands of the children of Terezin forming a warm embrace. "When the flowers blossom," says artist Samantha Ziino, "the little ones will probably no longer be there to admire them."

Illustration of a red, yellow and blue house, similar in style to a child's drawing, surrounded by real barbed wire. (Photo: Fabrica)

A house, or rather a home: symbol of warmth and family love. In this child-like drawing, artist Ilaria Montanari reminds us what was denied to children in concentration camps, embodied by the real barbed wire surrounding the colourful house.

The seven illustrations were commissioned by Italian creative laboratory Fabrica, and are currently featured as part of the exhibition I bambini della Shoah (Children of the Holocaust) in Sarno, near Naples. (Images courtesy of Fabrica. Slideshow by Flavia Di Consiglio)