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Close-up portrait of a Soviet Jewish worker.

Photograph | Photograph Number: 81418
Close-up portrait of a Soviet Jewish worker. Photograph is used on page 341 of Robert Gessner's "Some of My Best Friends are Jews." The pencil inscription on the back of the photograph reads, "Russian workers."

Close-up portrait of a Soviet Jewish worker.

Photograph is used on page 341 of Robert Gessner's "Some of My Best Friends are Jews." The pencil inscription on the back of the photograph reads, "Russian workers."

Photographer
Robert Gessner
Date
1933 - 1935
Locale
USSR
Photo Designation
LIFE BEFORE THE HOLOCAUST -- USSR/Russia -- Family/Friends/Portraits
Photo Credit
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Peter Gessner

About This Photograph

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.

Keywords and Subjects

Administrative History

Artifact Photographer
Peter Gessner

Rights and Restrictions

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/pa1181147