Elderly Jews pray at the Great Synagogoue in Moscow on Rosh Hashanah.

Photograph | Photograph Number: 81416

Photographer: Robert Gessner
Date: 1933 - 1935
Locale: USSR
Photo Designation: LIFE BEFORE THE HOLOCAUST -- USSR/Russia -- Religious Life/Weddings
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: INTERIORS
JEWISH HOLIDAYS
JEWISH HOLIDAYS (ROSH HASHANAH)
JEWS (RELIGIOUS)
JEWS (RUSSIAN/SOVIET)
SYNAGOGUES/CHAPELS
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/pa1181145

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