In
the years that preceded the end of World War II the
photograph served a very important function, not only for families who were living in Europe at the time, but also for
those who decided to emigrate and start new lives in the
United States and elsewhere in the world. Many families went
to large towns or big cities so that they could take one last
photograph together before one of them emigrated. The families that
had cameras, of course, could take their own photographs, and
they often sent these photographs to their
relatives living abroad by postal mail, perhaps accompanied by a
letter or a few words of affection written in Yiddish on the
back. These photographs would often create
one last visual memory that would remind the recipient,
for the rest of their lives, of the years that they had spent
together as a family, as for so many they would never
see each other again.
Whichever the case, these "postcards" were often bittersweet
memories for those who came to possess them, as many of those
featured in these photos remained in Europe, eventually
perishing in the Shoah. Importantly, these photos allow us to
employ our imagination, in order that each of us can form a picture in our own
mind's eye of what life might have been like there during the
pre-war years. These precious photographs provide us with visual clues into
what was a rich
Jewish culture and traditional way of life in a world long
since gone. We are left wishing fervently that we had many
more of these precious "postcards" that were taken by our
beloved families who once lived in our ancestral homes.
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Choose
among a growing number of shtetls, towns and cities
in Eastern Europe and see photographs that were
taken there. Read about some of the families that
lived there before the eve of World War II. |
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Choose from
an expanding list of surnames and see photographs of
the family members with that name. Read a little about
their lives. Perhaps you will recognize a surname that
you yourself are researching. |
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