his or her relationship with the photographed and ultimately those who watch them. The photographer's intentions do not define the meaning of photography; for a certain moment, the images live a life of their own. We - the viewers - are happy to watch and seek for explanations in the contexts in which we live. Photographs, on the other hand, do not explain anything; they live in different interpretations and independent cycles. The same applies to the photographs from the Archive. Repeatedly published, reprinted, copied and exhibited, they deviated from the intentions of their author, Ringelblum; they were interpreted; differently, their descriptions and meanings changed.
of Beit Lohamei Hagetaot (Museum of Ghetto Heroes) in Israel, which were re-scanned and added to the collection with the help of the Museum.
After more than seventy years, we were able to return to these photographs and traces of past events, reread them and look at them as constellations of images with context and aesthetics.
The photographer, in other words, who?
The signatures or stamps on photo prints are a significant trail in the search for a photographer. Some of the photos are marked with the logo of the Foto-Forbert studio.
-Forbert. Było to znane przed wojną atelier prowadzone przez Leo Forberta i Jechiela (Henryka) Bojma. W 1923 roku Henryk Bojm wspólnie z fotografem Leo Forbertem, właścicielem jednego z największych fotograficznych atelier w Warszawie, w którym fotografowało się środowisko filmowe i teatralne, założył żydowską spółkę filmową Leo-Film z siedzibą w atelier fotograficznym Leo Forberta. Wspólnie pracują przy pierwszym filmie jidysz dwudziestolecia międzywojennego – „Ślubowaniu” (1924). W czasie okupacji, mimo śmierci wspólnika, Bojm nie zrezygnował z prowadzenia zakładu. Po zamknięciu getta przeniósł się na ul. Elektoralną 7.
Therefore, if it is a deliberately composed collection, is it possible to attribute them to any author; is its presence visible, and how did it affect the collection? Emanuel Ringelblum did not question the objectivity of photography; he considered it registration of reality and not a medium subject to feelings and interpretations. Photographs that do not fit in with the rest become all the more mysterious, as they point in an unequivocal way to the photographer who added his/her perspective and relations with the people immortalised in these photographs.
Therefore, the field of interpretation of the work stretches between the planned purpose of the photographs, those who commission them, and the photographer's sensitivity and intentions, his or her relationship with the photographed and ultimately those who watch them.
their descriptions and meanings changed. In 1946, the commission that compiled the photographs, which included Nachman Blumental, Laura Eichhornowa, Dora Elbirt, H. Smolar and Luba Szochet, gave them titles and conducted the first identifications. With great probability, we can point to Laura Eichhorn, which is handwritten on the reverse of one of the photographs. However, in most cases, with no additional information at her disposal, she was not precise. The collection of photographs was dispersed after 1946. All the more so, with only short descriptions, the matching of a photograph with a title is not at all evident. After an arduous search, 6 photos were identified between copies from the collections of Beit Lohamei Hagetaot (Museum of Ghetto Heroes) in Israel, which were re-scanned and added to the collection with the help of the Museum . ponownie zeskanowane i dołączone do kolekcji .