Pre-war photograph of Jew taken clandestinely by Roman Vishniac
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 28.190 inches (71.603 cm) | Width: 22.130 inches (56.21 cm)
Creator(s)
- Roman Vishniac (Photographer)
Biographical History
Roman Vishniac was born in 1897 in St. Petersburg, Russia and was educated in the Universities of Moscow and Berlin. From 1933 to 1939, he traveled throughout eastern Europe--Russia, Poland, Rumania, Czechoslovakia, and Lithuania--photographing Jewish communities. He was arrested and imprisoned repeatedly by police who suspected him of photographing Jews. Of the sixteen thousand images he took, two thousand negatives still exist. Vishniac's photographs were made with a hidden Leica camera which he wrapped a handkerchief around and exposed the film as he wiped his brow. He also used a concealed Rollei or 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 camera. The Rollei was kept under his coat with the lens protruding through an enlargened button hole.
Archival History
The photograph was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991 by Mara Vishniac Kohn.
Acquisition
Gift of Mara Vishniac Kohn, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley
Scope and Content
In the catalog accompanying these photographs, Vishniac described "The Jewish people received the holy Book. They carried books with them when they walked in the streets. They learned, they studied, they discussed. Books became the spiritual food of the Jews. Boys of thirteen could read and write while ninety percent of the non-Jews were illiterate." Original created by Roman Vishniac (donor's father), 1938, Warsaw, Poland. Reproduced from original negative by Witkin-Berley Limited, 1977, Roslyn Heights, New York.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Permanently mounted on board; image of a man walking down street and holding four books; woman with her hair in a bun walks behind him with her back to the viewer; urban streetscape with mixed-use buildings, some with decorative grill work on balconies, one doorway has an awning, building in near background with sign "Farbiar... [end of word not visible]/Parowa" Image permanently mounted on board; verso, printed label, lower left corner, "print No. 2 of portfolio No. 33 published in 1977 by Witkin-Berley, Ltd."
Genre
- Object
- Photographs