The beginnings of photography in Poland date back to 1839 when the news of the daguerreotype reached the country. Photography quickly got popular, and near the end of the 19th century professional photography salons grew in numbers fast. In some towns there were even several of them. It is worthwhile to pay attention to the fact, that the photographer's profession was usually taken up by Jews. The activity of itinerant photographers was an extraordinary social phenomenon of the break of the 19th and 20th century in Poland. They travelled the province and offered their services as photographers. No documents on the topic remain, which is why their photos are the only evidence of their activity. Currently the memory of these photographers is being brought back, but many of them remain unknown or forgotten. Because of the aura of mystery and uniqueness surrounding the black-and-white prewar photographs, it is worth it to learn something about them. We kindly invite you for a journey in the footsteps of local photographers.
Keyword "Slonim"
J. Kugelmass, J. Boyarin, „From a ruined garden: The Memorial Books of Polish Jewry”, Bloomington 1998: "My "Days" in Slonim".
Слонім [Belorussian], סלאָנים [Hibrew], סלונים [Yiddish],
Słonim [Polish], Dramblys [Lithuanian], Слоним [Russian]
Slonim is a town, a district center of Grodno region in the Republic of Belarus.
Pol. Słonim, Bel. Слонім, Yid.סלאָנים
Playing with his peers a game of the strange-sounding name “klipa” in 1930s Slonim; listening to visiting cantors in the Slonim synagogue; together with his father reading newspapers that had been imported from Warsaw or London; learning Latin at school; and going to the synagogue every Saturday and on holidays, Briker lived in a big world.
We invite you to join the route tracing jeshivot in Belarus, which were very important places for Jewish communities.
Pinkas Slonim (Memorial book of Slonim), Editor: Kalman Lichtenstein, Former Residents of Slonim in Israel, Published: Tel Aviv 1962-1979 (4 volumes H, Y, E)