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 that accompanies the photographs, Vishniac explained "The little girl had to stay in bed for seven months because she had no shoes. It would have been senseless to spend money for shoes. What could she earn to bring in to the family? It was better for her to stay in bed, not to catch a cold. Her father, who loved the little girl so much, used stencils to make the pictures on the wall. He painted flowers for her, the only flowers of her youth." 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
Image of a young girl with disheveled hair in a bed; she gathers blankets around her; on the wall behind her design of clouds and flowers. Image permanently mounted on board; verso, printed label, "print No. 10 of portfolio 33, published in 1977 by Witkin-Berley, Ltd."
Genre
- Photographs
- Object