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The Repair Shop expert Lucia Scalisi appeared on Wednesday’s instalment of BBC Breakfast to discuss the latest series of the beloved renovation show. She shared how she repaired a painting hidden from Nazis during the Second World War which reduced the team to tears. She said “we were all crying” but assured viewers they were tears of joy.
In emotional scenes yet to air, guest Maria Kirk, 74, brings in a discoloured, cracked and creased painting of Madonna and Child.
Maria explained the painting was her only connection to her Ukrainian family and described it as a “beacon of peace.”
The piece was once displayed in the village church in Skowiatyn, Western Ukraine, where her family lived.
It was given to her grandfather by his father and during the outbreak of the Second World War the family was determined to keep it.
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“They decided to take the painting. They took it out of the frame, rolled it up and stitched it inside the lining of a winter coat.”
Tragically, they were all captured by the Germans and sent to a forced labour camp in Northern Germany where they kept swapping the coat.
Stefania and Irena survived the horrors of the camp but Maria’s grandmother Halyna died of starvation.
She added: “I couldn’t understand why they had taken this painting and not something more practical, but now I get it.
“It was the precious link between them and their father… the family and life as it used to be.
“The painting is a beacon of peace, faith and beauty out of the darkness and horror of war.”
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BBC Breakfast host Sally Nugent asked artwork restorer Lucia to describe the moment she reunited Maria with the painting after repairing it.
She said: “Oh my God, it wasn’t exactly traumatic, it was very joyful but there were a lot of tears.
“I mean, Maria is a character and she had a lot to say about everything and she was so loving and thankful.
“She really looks beyond now to what she is going to do with the painting.
“We still had distance restrictions between us but it was very difficult to leave her there sobbing when she saw the painting.
“All the memories came back so we had a little chat,” Lucia added.
The artwork expert concluded: “We were all crying, but it was joyful tears.”
The Repair Shop returns tonight (Wednesday, March 22) on BBC One at 8pm.
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