Suwalki street scenes, orphanage, and cemetery
Creator(s)
- Harold Bland
- Leonard Bland (Camera Operator)
- Herman Bland (Subject)
Biographical History
Herman and Lotte Bland emigrated from Poland to the United States settling in Chicago and Milwaukee. Herman (1893-1945) was born in Filipow and Lotte (Zlata Marks, 1896-1953) was born in Suwalki. In 1937, they decided to visit their birthplaces with their children, Leonard and Harold. They traveled from New York to Le Havre on the SS Normandie. Herman, a motion picture operator and theater owner, brought along a Bell and Howell 16mm motion picture camera. At the age of twenty, Leonard, shot most of the footage and thus is not pictured in the film.
Herman and Lotte Bland emigrated from Poland to the United States settling in Chicago and Milwaukee. Herman (1893-1945) was born in Filipow and Lotte (Zlata Marks, 1896-1953) was born in Suwalki. In 1937, they decided to visit their birthplaces with their children, Leonard and Harold. The family traveled from New York to Le Havre on the SS Normandie. Herman, a motion picture operator and theater owner, brought along a Bell and Howell 16mm motion picture camera. At one point in the trip the family came across "Kill the Jews" inscribed in Polish in newly poured cement around the Suwalki outdoor market. The Americans filmed the graffiti and were taken to the police station where the film in the camera was confiscated. The poverty, use of peat for heating, washing of clothes in the river, and antisemitism witnessed throughout the trip greatly affected the Blands. As a result, Lotte became very involved in charitable work, serving as President of the Women's Auxiliary of Hebrew Theological Seminary.
Scope and Content
Lottie Bland at the Suwalki cemetery. Ritual washing house [Taharah] by the entrance of the cemetery, plaque on wall with Biblical verses recited during the ritual washing, the washing table. Locals gather around the Bland family's car. Zlotke poses for the camera with a family member. Scenes on Kasciuszko Street, crowds. Suwalki city hall. A man collecting for the Talmud Torah. Harold pumps water at a well while his father Herman helps him. Two peasant women with a cart. Dr. Erdreich's apothecary store on Kosciuszko Street. Women wash clothes on a canal off of the Czarna Hancza River. Scenes of Make Ratsk, the poor section of town. 01:07:17 At the orphanage for the poor [Bet Yetomin], Lottie holds an orphan boy the Blands considered adopting but did not. 01:08:05 Orphanage administrators include Mr. Motzman (left), and Mrs. Ivry (far right). The orphans sing, the orphan boy stands in front of his peers and sings. Dancing the Hora. Children and staff eat a meal donated by the Blands. Buildings in Suwalki, including the Bas-Midrash with Star of David in the window. 01:16:03 Home for the Jewish Aged in Suwalki. The elderly exit building. Harold and Herman stand outside the Bikur Holim/Linas HaTzedek. A group of prominent members of the Jewish community of Suwalki, including Mordechai Weisberg, property owner and president of the Bicher Holim, Mr. Eilender, lumber merchant and member of the Jewish Council, and Mr. Gladstein, the watchmaker, stand outside the building. Desecrated grave erected a few days previously in Suwalki cemetery by the Blands. Grave stones for Lipsky, Zemansky, Grodzinsky, and Alexander Abramsky (who's uncle lived in Chicago at the time).
Note(s)
Original metal reel labeled: "Suwalk" "Orphan, Old People's Home, Picnic" "July 8 Sept 1947"
It is likely that Liza and Fryda Lichsztejnowa appear in this film. Julius Wolfson, their uncle in America, was never able to get them released from the orphanage. See Film and Video files for a Mr. Wolfson's letter to the American Consul in Poland pleading for a visa for the girls. Fryda had blonde hair and was a teenager in 1938 (it is possible she is the tall young woman with short blonde hair in the group portrait at 01:08:20).
Subjects
- SYNAGOGUES
- DANCING
- STARS OF DAVID
- GRAVES
- RIVERS
- RELIGIOUS SERVICES (JEWISH)
- WOMEN
- JEWISH LIFE (PRE-WAR)
- CEMETERIES
- JEWS
- VILLAGES
- POLES
- CHILDREN (JEWISH)
- FAMILIES
- ORPHANS
- SINGING
Places
- Suwalki, Poland
Genre
- Amateur.
- Film