Pre-war photograph of Jew taken clandestinely by Roman Vishniac
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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.
The photograph was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991 by Mara Vishniac Kohn, the daughter of Roman Vishniac.
irn4875
Pre-war photograph of Jew taken clandestinely by Roman Vishniac
overall: Height: 28.190 inches (71.603 cm) | Width: 22.130 inches (56.21 cm)
In the catalog accompanying this photograph, Vishniac explained"The peasants were all so uneducated that you could not speak with them about anything. Their interest was just vodka; only achohol to drink. But a Jewish peasant-he was a wise man who knew about life, without having a radio or newspaper or any information, nothing but his own thought and understanding. And this made his most interesting for all discussions. He asked me if a danger existed and if Hitler's police would come, arrest him, and send him to death. I feared this, too, but could not advise him. There was no place to go. The whole world was closed and nobody was interested in saving the Jews" Original created by Roman Vishniac, 1937, Carpatho-Ukraine, USSR. Reproduced from original negative by Witkin-Berley Limited, 1977, Roslyn Heights, New York.
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Image of a man's smiling face; he has beard and peyot (earlocks) and wears a cap, striped shirt buttoning to neck and dark coarsely woven vest; extensive field in background with trees visible on horizon. Image permanently mounted on board; verso, printed label, lower left corner,"print No. 7 of portfolio 33 published in 1977 by Witkin-Berley, Ltd"