Lieberman family babies in prewar Poland
Two babies, Thomas and Hanna, in a playpen. Nurse. Hanna's parents, Ella and Benedikt, play with her as she tries to drink out of a mug. They pose for the camera. New people surround Hanna, including Ella. A woman named Helena dressed as a nurse helps out, assists Hanna to walk. Multiple shots of the Lieberman family holding Hanna.
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Record last modified: 2022-07-28 22:02:46
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn1004258
Also in Lieberman Family Collection
Hanna Lieberman-Levi loaned fifty-six original 9.5mm Pathe reels containing home movies of her childhood in prewar Poland. The family footage features cousins Hanna and Thomas Sperber and their families relaxing in Knihinin, Poland and vacationing in the spa retreat of Jaremcze, Poland (both locations are now in the Ukraine). The footage also includes rare scenes from Nahariya, Palestine, where the family moved in 1936 and settled. Two videocassettes (100 minutes)
Hanna playing in the yard of her home in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna places a baby doll in a wagon, taking great care in doing so. She hauls the wagon around, running through the garden in which she stands. She runs about while holding the doll.
Children play
Film
A town, pan to a massive stack of cut wood. The children walk about. It is summertime. With the help of Ella, they create a teeter-totter with a wooden beam. The children pose for the camera after playing a bit. Grandfather Sperber (older man with beard) with a horse and cart. CUs, another older man wearing a unique cap, holding a kitten.
Lieberman family in the fields of Palestine
Film
Film is incredibly jumpy. Man models a jacket too small for him. People are walking along a grassy hill. Hanna is picking things off the ground.
Lieberman family at their house in Nahariya, Palestine
Film
Pans of the horizon (probably in Ein Sara, Palestine). A gate and fence are seen, beyond that is a large house, barns, car, and forest. CU, man. Shots of the fields, the car with steering wheel on the right hand side, profile of Emanuel (with glasses), a person on a bicycle, and people walking about the structure. Nelly points to a tree and climbs the stairs of the white Lieberman House in Nahariya. Benedikt follows.
Children bathe; parents swim in the river
Film
Hanna and Thomas are playing in the washtub in Jaremcze. Parents Benedikt and Ella are on the edge of the water in a small river. They walk about in the water attempting to get used to the cold.
Children pass time by dancing and digging in the garden
Film
Incredibly grainy, out of focus, and not steady. Hanna dances, and then Babeta rakes the soil. It is very difficult to distinguish anything beyond that.
Children with their grandfather on the terrace of their home in prewar Poland
Film
An older man, Grandfather Filip Lieberman, holds a young Hanna and eventually a young Thomas. They are babies. In washed out footage, you can see them standing in a playpen.
Family in Olomouc; farming
Film
Hanna is blowing up balloons and playing with them at the garden in Olmuetz, with a few family onlookers. They move into the garden. These women are dressed nicely. They all walk in the hills (farmland?) 02:12:34 Probably Stanislawow - numerous men digging in the ground, Benno is in a white shirt. A wheelbarrow is brought to them. Child, probably Babeta (Alyssa Sperber), with the rake. Pan landscape, farm, Lieberman family. Emanuel Sperber with his wife, Nelly. Thomas Sperber drives the tractor, his father Emanuel (balding and seen from behind) walks towards the tractor.
Airfield; Lieberman family gardening; Boys gathered on a bench
Film
Airfield (probably in Poland - grass under the planes) This could be in February 1939 when the family hired a plane to go to Palestine. Biplanes are everywhere, lined up as far as the camera can see. Some are have their engines started. These are most likely Henkel HE51s, a plane used between the World Wars. They take off en masse. Pans of the airfield follow. Cut to the children and a few adults standing around (Poland or Palestine?). Group sits on a bench. Man and woman exit a house. The picture is rather washed out and it is unclear what is going on.
Hanna and Benedikt play in the river, prewar Poland
Film
Hanna and her father walk around a beach. She plays in the water. He stands around. They sit together next to what appear to be small railroad tracks. Pan up to a large flagpole (flag with circle in the middle).
Lieberman family relaxes on the terrace in prewar Poland; Hanna and Thomas bathe
Film
The family is in the yard. Hanna and Thomas run around unclothed. High angle shots looking down at the porch, where the family eats. Includes Thomas, Benedikt, Heinrich, Hanna, and Magda. CUs, Emanuel (with glasses) and Nelly. The children bathing in the wash tub with Benedikt.
Lieberman family at the park in prewar Olomouc
Film
In very grainy footage, Hanna runs about, holding a stick and clothed for warmth in a park in Olmuetz. The family walks towards the camera. Then dressed for spring, jumping off a stoop with Harriet.
Logging factory in the winter
Film
A man with a toothbrush mustache is drawn by a horse. It is a winter scene of a logging yard. A group of men sit around a source of steam or smoke, but no fire is visible. Horses bring in the next group of trees affixed to sleds. Grandfather Sperber (with beard). Flagpole. Children appear at 02:38:19.
Hanna playing at the gate in prewar Olomouc
Film
Hanna in pig tails is playing on a gate with a very tall man. CUs. He climbs over the gate after she is done swinging on it. He leaps over it with relative ease.
Children bathe in the yard of their home in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna, Thomas, and Lisa Kunard bathe in a large wash tub, splashing about. The tub is emptied and rolled around the yard with Hanna's mother Ella and an older girl.
Hanna dances at a folk festival in Olomouc and then boards a train to return home to Poland
Film
A large, traditional German festival in Olmuetz with many couples dancing. Hanna dances on her own on a path with woods behind her. Hanna and her mother Ella board a PKP train with sign: "Stanislawow-Woronienka." They look out from the train window and say their goodbyes to family in the station.
Hanna plays in the garden of her home in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna stands in a tree and then sits on a wicker chair in the garden in the buff. Her mother Ella comes and talks to her as she walks around the garden with a measuring tape, and then a watering can, drawing water and then watering the grass.
Hanna, her mother, and aunt model kimonos on the terrace in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna walks around in a kimono and holding a sun umbrella on the porch of their home in Jaremcze. Mother Ella and another woman are dressed similarly. Hanna walks around and plays with the umbrella.
Lieberman family visits a church and Hanna plays ball with her father
Film
The Lieberman family and Ella's relatives are on their way to Holy Hill church near Olomouc. There is a beautiful view of Olomouc from this hill. They walk the long road approaching the church, dressed for cold weather. Hanna chases after a ball bounced to her by her father Benedikt and mother Ella. She wears a fur coat and hat. Car with CS (Czechoslovakia) plate is shown for a single second.
Children play in a park in prewar Olomouc
Film
Hanna and Harriet (a cousin from her mother's family?) stands at the edge of Olomouc City Park, jumping off a small stump. A post sign appears at 01:48:54 but it is illegible (Terez Gate).
Lieberman family welcomes newborn Babeta
Film
A new baby (Hanna's cousin Babeta) is in a carriage drinking from a bottle. It is held up by its mother Nelly and father Emanuel (with glasses). She is played with, diaper changed, and fed.
Girls dance outdoors in prewar Poland
Film
The girls dance outdoors in Jaremcze in front of an ethnic band, with drum, violin, and some kind of held piano. Brief shot of their mothers Ella and Nelly on a bench.
Children ski outside their vacation home in prewar Poland
Film
Winter scene, snow covers most of the ground. Hanna is bundled up. She and Thomas strap on their snow skis. They get some help from her father Benedikt. Slowly they work their way along a path and down a slight slope, falling once.
Hanna and Thomas play in the snow; Hanna and Babeta swing in a hammock
Film
Hanna and Thomas run along a path in the snow. Scene shifts to the summertime, with Hanna and Babeta swinging in a hammock.
Sledding in the yard of the Lieberman family vacation home in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna is sledding down a small hill in a runner sled, runs back to the top, and repeats. She then treks down a snowy path between houses and walks with Thomas. She begins sledding again.
Lieberman family travels by horse and buggy; children play on a teeter-totter
Film
The entire family gathers into a horse-drawn carriage and travels along a road, probably in Jaremcze or Stanislawow. The background is very dark, but appears to be fields. Scene shifts to Hanna (much older now) playing in a woodpile, trying to create a teeter-totter with some other children.
Garden of the family home in Olomouc, prewar
Film
Pan of the surrounding area, large houses and a large garden. A woman and the girl rake the soil. Cut to numerous people walking in a field, Hanna runs about and walks with her parents. She stands again in the garden, raking.
Hanna eats, plays with her father, and runs around in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna lies in bed, clutching a stuffed dog and playing. She is being fed. She stands up, her father Benedikt comes on screen to hug and play with her. She runs around in some coat without a back.
Children in a garden in prewar Poland
Film
The kids walk around a grassy field near the house. They begin playing in a dirt area. The toy wheelbarrow is brought out, and Thomas and Hanna play with garden tools.
Family relaxes in a park in prewar Olomouc while Hanna plays
Film
Hanna with a baby carriage is on camera briefly. Benedikt, Ella, and other adults (Ella's relatives) walk down a path. They are all sitting on park benches. Hanna runs about as the adults talk. CUs, adults. Shots of all of the people there. Hanna puts things into a garbage can.
Children bathe and play in the yard of their vacation home in prewar Poland
Film
Thomas and Hanna prepare for a bath, sitting in the nude and playing in the grass. They play with lawnchairs, "driving" them. An older, clothed girl (probably cousin Magda) plays with them.
Hanna washes her uncle's hands and eats nuts
Film
Hanna with a hat uses an outdoor water spout to wash her uncle Georg's hands. She gathers and cracks nuts, and eventually sits in a wash tub, eating them.
Children playing in the sand in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna in a headscarf and Thomas dig around in the sand outside a house. They then run around the house with other children.
Children bathe and play outdoors; Benedikt and Ella wade in a cold river; Hanna scoots around
Film
The two children, Thomas and Hanna, are in the wash tub, playing and splashing. Hanna gets out and is put into a little robe, which she quickly loses after the nurse empties the tub and flips it over. They play on top of the overturned wash tub. Now dressed, they are carried around by their parents. Benedikt and Ella, the parents, are at the bank of a small river, attempting to endure the cold water. They wade out further. Cut to Hanna scooting herself around on a short stool, learning how to use a potty.
Visiting a park, eating indoors, and playing with a dog toy in prewar Olomouc
Film
The adults (Ella's family) are outside, dressed for colder weather, walking on the edge of a wooded area/park. City of Olomouc. A few seconds later they are indoors again, with the children, first they are eating at the table with Grandma Karolina Ziegler (left), then Hanna is being carried by Terry Tugenhart, playing with dolls. Hanna plays with a toy dog on wheels along with a spoon. Her mother, Ella, comes and sits at her side as Hanna continues to play.
Playing in the garden in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna, in flowered coveralls, is walking about this wooded area in Knihinin playing with a slightly older girl.
Hanna playing indoors in prewar Poland
Film
Hanna jumps in her bed, which has netting around the side.
Lieberman family looks out an apartment window in Poland
Film
The family looks out an upper story window with (from left to right) Henryk Kupferman (child cousin), Ella, Magda Kupferman (child cousin) with Thomas and Hanna behind near the window, and Avraham Kupferman (Benedikt's brother in law). Thomas and Hanna seem amazed by what they see.
Nurse exercises Hanna's baby limbs
Film
Hanna sits on the bed and is stretched out with the help of a nurse.
Baby Hanna with her parents, prewar Poland
Film
Hanna is in a wicker basket on top of two chairs. She is picked up by her mother Ella and presented to the camera. Benedikt, her father, then holds her for the camera.
Lieberman family celebrates Benedikt's 35th birthday on the terrace, prewar Poland
Film
Grandfathers Gidon Brecher, Filip Lieberman, and Natan Sperber help Thomas take a few steps. Gidon holds baby Hanna in his arms; the three men assist Hanna as she attempts to walk. Benedikt celebrates his 35th birthday with a bottle of wine, everyone in the family lines up to shake his hand. Some hugs are in order. 01:05:08 The cameraman hugs Benedikt.
Family takes a walk and children play in prewar Poland
Film
It is winter, a group of older family members (including Benedikt's sister Nelly, who is Thomas's mother) are waiting outside the house in Jaremcze. The children are both walking. They all walk out of the house and down a pathway. Hanna is on the back porch with a croquet mallet, talking to Nelly in the window, playing around. Thomas joins her. They bang on the house a bit and walk around.
Family takes a walk in prewar Polish town and children play with a wagon
Film
An older man and a woman walk down a road, with horse carts parked on either side of them. Another man walks with Hanna, who quickly becomes interested in the carts. 01:08:44 The family is on the porch of their home again. Hanna has a toy wheelbarrow and begins playing. Thomas has a wooden wagon, and as soon as he leaves it, Hanna takes it and gets in it as Thomas looks on. Thomas finally begins to pull Hanna around in the wagon.
Hanna eats and plays on the terrace with Lieberman family, prewar Poland
Film
CU, Hanna, with a bow in her hair, eats out of a bowl. She looks around a lot, and plays a bit, but seems to enjoy the food. Cut to outside, the kids are playing with their wagon, and many more adults are around this time. Thomas has a large toy car as well.
Children play outdoors in prewar Poland
Film
Forest scene in early autumn. The kids run around. Hanna is carried on both parents' shoulders for a time. They walk along paths in Jaremcze, Thomas is carried too. They sit, and Hanna is given something to drink. Cut to the two children helping each other into long fur coats (also donated to the Museum). The children play with the wagon, Thomas pulls Hanna.
Girls push miniature baby carriages; Hanna plays with a doll
Film
Children, more heavily dressed, are at some paved area with wooden beams in the background (a playground?). They play with baby carriages, racing them and attempting to chase down a preteen girl (maybe cousin Magda). Hanna plays with baby dolls indoors.
Children eat and play on the terrace with their parents, prewar Poland
Film
The two children eat at a small table out of bowls. Nurse, and Thomas's mother Nelly sit and watches them eat, often correcting what could be considered early table manners. Hanna runs around with a wooden cane. The children play with fake cigarettes. They then are given buckets and watering cans by Hanna's mother Ella. They run around the porch.
Hanna plays alone, then with Thomas and Lieberman family adults in the yard of their home, and finally bathing
Film
Hanna plays with a very small wagon. Around her neck is some kind of purse. She puts many things in the wagon, and then walks around pulling it. She runs into another girl. Benedikt holds his daughter. Grandfather Sperber (older man with beard) hugs Thomas. Hanna gives Thomas a kiss, and then they play. The car drives past, they look on in wonderment. They walk up to the car with a nurse, and get in. Cut to the children in a wash basin taking a bath. They both splash wildly and play with sticks.
Baby Babeta and Lieberman family in prewar Poland; Hanna plays in the river
Film
Thomas stands near a baby carriage with young Babeta laying inside. Shots of baby Babeta. Numerous Lieberman family members pose for the camera with the baby sitting up in the carriage. Includes view of Grandfather Sperber (older man with a beard). The Lieberman family is now at a river, probably near Chryplin, swimming.
Men at a logging factory
Film
Men in traditional dress roll a log onto a large pile. These are all felled trees. Six men labor to get it going. They finally get it there and look at the camera. Brief glimpse of the children in dark winter coats at 02:05:36.
Hanna plays with a camera and lipstick case with her father Benedikt
Film
Hanna has a photo camera, her father Benedikt looks over her shoulder and sticks his tongue out at the camera. He begins explaining it to her, helping her to use it. She also plays with a lipstick case.
Forest, adults gathered in Palestine
Film
A farm building, fence, cows. The camera is very shaky. Circular pan of pine trees. 02:07:56 Possibly the Lieberman House in Nahariya, Palestine? Three men talking to each other. Woman stands in front of a car. Man in a straw hat holds a baby on top of a brick structure (a well?).
Lieberman family hiking in the Carpathians and at a farm
Film
The Lieberman family is walking along a mountain path, hiking in the Carpathian Mountains, near their vacation home in Jaremcze. Scenic view of the rolling hills of the area. They crawl under a wire fence. 02:09:34 Quick view of a man with a necktie holding a U.S. flag.
Children play on a teeter-totter
Film
Hanna with braids on teeter-totter. Hanna, Thomas, and Babeta play on it.
