Pre-war photograph of Jew taken clandestinely by Roman Vishniac

Identifier
irn4872
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1991.222.4
Dates
1 Jan 1938 - 31 Dec 1938
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 28.190 inches (71.603 cm) | Width: 22.130 inches (56.21 cm) | Depth: 39.210 inches (99.593 cm)

Creator(s)

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, the daughter of Roman Vishniac.

Acquisition

Gift of Mara Vishniac Kohn, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley

Scope and Content

In the catalog which accompanies this photograph, Vishniac explained "As peddlers they could sell a few things, second-hand goods from which they could make a meager living. But not any more, for the boycott killed all possibilities of making their income by selling. So they were sitting and waiting and hoping. And I was with them. I wanted to photograph a kind of soul giving something to beggars. I was waiting the whole day, but the beggars did not get a little coin, and I did not get my picture." Original created by Roman Vishniac, 1938. 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 two seated men. Image permanently mounted on board; verso, printed label, lower left corner, "No. 4 of portfolio 33 published in 1977 by Witkin-Berley, Ltd."

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.