Holocaust

The last Jew in Vinnitsa is a famous photograph taken during the Holocaust in Ukraine near the town of Vinnitsa (Vinnytsia). In the photo we see a man awaiting execution by the Einsatzgruppen beside a mass grave. The photograph is dated sometime between 1941 and 1943. For more information about …

During Kristallnacht, Jewish goods, properties and synagogues were attacked and destroyed, while tens of thousands of Jewish people were arrested and / or deported. Kristallnacht (9-10th November 1938) emerged as a response to the assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Polish Jewish teenager Herschel Grynszpan. The pogrom was …

Some of the first Hungarian Jewish people to arrive at Auschwitz, held up for selection on the “Jewish ramp” in May 1944. You can see the famous main gate of Auschwitz II – Birkenau in the background. The image is part of the “Auschwitz Album”, a photographic record held by …

Mechelen transit camp courtyard, Belgium, sometime during 1942 (probably in Autumn). The Mechelen Camp, established in March 1942, was used for gathering and holding minorities. Particularly Jews and Gypsies were detained here before their deportation to other places. It was the only such camp in German occupied Belgium, and it …

Wehrmacht soldiers overseeing a transport of Jewish people to a workplace. Warsaw Ghetto, 1941. The Warsaw ghetto was established in late Autumn 1940 by German authorities in order to separate Jewish people from the rest of the population. Jewish people would then be deported to work and concentration camps. The …

Drancy internment camp in the suburbs of Paris, France, in August 1941. In the image we see the inner courtyard and the horse shoe shape of the housing blocks. The camp was under the command of Adolf Eichmann’s assistant, Alois Brunner. Drancy was operational between 20 August 1941 and 17 …

Danish Jews on a boat to Sweden in September – October 1943. Picture taken by one of the refugees. Due to the commendable collective efforts of Danish citizens, over 99% of Denmark’s Jewish population survived the war. The Danish resistance movement managed to evacuate no less than 7220 out of …

Mauthausen Camp Commandant Franz Ziereis with SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler and SS Obergruppenfuhrer Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner on April 27th, 1941. The photo is taken at the “Wiener Graben” stone quarry, where the camp inmates were worked tirelessly. The quarry was one of the main reasons for the location of the …