A group of Jewish men gather outside the stock exchange in Warsaw.

Photograph | Photograph Number: 81207

Photographer: Robert Gessner
Date: 1933 - 1935
Locale: Warsaw, Poland
Variant Locale: Warszawa
Varshava
Warschau
Photo Designation: LIFE BEFORE THE HOLOCAUST -- Poland -- Family/Friends/Portraits -- At Home/In Town
Photo Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Peter Gessner

Biography: Robert Gessner was born October 23, 1907, in Escanaba, Michigan. He received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1929 and an M.A. from Columbia University in 1930. He grew up in a predominantly non-Jewish environment but became increasingly aware of antisemitism as a young man. After the rise of Hitler, Gessner began the study of Jewish history and decided to write his next book analyzing the rise of antisemitism, not only in Germany but around the world. In April 1933 he sailed to England to chronicle in film and still photography the Jewish communities in Europe. His travels took him to England, France, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (Vilna) Russia and Palestine, and in 1936 he published the book "Some of My Best Friends are Jews." After his return he became a professor of film studies at NYU and became a leader in the emerging field of cinematology.
Keyword: EXTERIORS
JEWS (POLISH)
JEWS (RELIGIOUS)
STOCK EXCHANGE
STREET SCENES
Artifact Photographer: Peter Gessner
Photo Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Provenance: Peter Gessner

Source Record ID: Collections: 2014.534.1
: Record last modified: 2015-06-03 00:00:00
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1181103

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