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| Credit: Instytut Pamieci Narodowej National Archives and Records Administration, College Park Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau w Oswiecimiu |
This photograph was taken during
the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Poland in 1943. The exact date of the photograph
is unknown, but it was taken during the suppression of the uprising by SS
(Protection Squadrons) and SD (Security Service) troops from 19 April- 16 May
1943. The photographer is unknown, but it was most likely an official SS or SD
photographer. The photograph’s original caption read “Mit Gewalt aus Bunkern hervorgeholt,” which is
often translated as “Pulled from the bunkers by force” or “Forcibly
pulled out of dug-outs.” The story behind its commission is interesting and well
documented.
The photograph was part of an
album, the idea and the commission of which came from Frederich Wilhelm
Krueger, the leader of the police in Krakow and a member of the Higher SS. He
commissioned the souvenir album as a gift for Heinrich Himmler, the head of the
SS, as a token of the Nazis’ victory in the hard fought battle against the
Jewish Fighting Organization and the suppression of the ghetto which Himmler
had ordered. The album was prepared by SS Major General Jürgen Stroop,
commander of the German forces which liquidated the Warsaw ghetto. The
photographs (the above photograph was one of 52, and was on page 12 of the
album) were included along with summaries of SS operations and daily
communications concerning status updates. The album was entitled The Jewish
Quarter of Warsaw is No More! (Es gibt keinen jüdischen Wohnbezirk in Warschau mehr!). Three
copies of the album were made: one for Heinrich Himmler, one for Frederich
Krueger, and the third for Jürgen Stroop. Therefore, the initial impact
of the photograph was for personal documentation and triumphing purposes for
the leaders involved.
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Photograph as seen in album with original caption.
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The image was communicated to the public and had a greater impact after
the war. In December 1945, the album was introduced as evidence during the International
Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany (USHMM). The assistant prosecutor
dealing with the persecution of the Jews referred to it as “the finest example
of ornate German craftsmanship, leather bound, profusely illustrated, typed on
heavy bond paper ... the almost unbelievable recital of the proud
accomplishment by Major General of Police Stroop” (Conot, 269-270). The album
later became known as “The Stroop Report.” While the identities of the people
seen in the photograph have been questioned over time, one identity has been
confirmed. The officer holding the gun directly behind the young boy is Josef
Blösche, an SS-Rottenführer. He was a sadistic SS officer who had no qualms
about shooting Jews inside the ghetto, especially children. After the Second
World War, Blösche worked in an East German mine. This particular photograph
was submitted as evidence and used to help identify him when he was put on
trial for war crimes in the 1960s. Blösche was sentenced to death and shot in a
prison in Liepzig in 1969 (USHMM). The impact of the photograph at this event
was great as it helped identify someone who had escaped the international
tribunal and helped achieve some measure of justice. This photograph and others
used at the trials can also be said to be impactful because it marked a shift
from primarily text documents as evidence to using visual materials as
evidence, a testament to the power of photography. The use of the photograph is testament to Sontag’s statement that “Photographs
cannot create a moral position, but they can reinforce one-and can help build a
nascent one.” Afterwards, the photograph was
reproduced in newspapers, magazines, and shown on television. It has since
become one the defining photographs of the Holocaust and of the Warsaw Ghetto
Uprising.
The photograph is powerful because it captures the sense of confusion
and disorder that existed in the ghetto during the uprising. This photograph is
unlike others that exist, which depict prisoners neatly in line. Rather, the
chaos of the moment is captured as the people are tossed out of the building by
soldiers at the threat of gun point. These people were taken out of their
hiding place. Hurriedly, the people seemed to have rushed outside. The
confusion is seen in the people’s faces- no one knows where to look or turn. Heads
look in different directions: left, right, and to the sides. The woman at the
front seems to have stopped and glanced backwards, maybe because she does not know
where to go next. Do they hold their bags or put their arms in the air? Closer
examination of the building and the ground reveals rubble and destruction,
which is a mere fraction of the damage done by the fighting between Jewish
resistance and SS troops. The dark color of the people’s clothing contrasts
with the light color (in terms of grayscale) of their faces, drawing the viewer’s
eyes to the people’s faces. The glare from the SS men’s helmets and boots calls
the viewer’s attention to them as well. Blösche’s gun and facial expression are
images out of a nightmare which only seems to worsen the longer one looks at
it. Though the photograph was (seemingly) taken during the light of day, it
captures a dark moment.
The most powerful element of the photograph is the young boy. The viewer’s
eyes are immediately drawn to him. Standing somewhat apart from the group of
people with his arms raised in the air, his stance and facial expression
capture the sense of loss, confusion and fear of the moment. Though young, his
facial expression is old, as children should never have gone through such
experiences. Images of children in such situations never cease to shock,
because the loss of innocence is something everyone understands as wrong. The
young boy is one of the reasons why the image is well remembered. Though
several people have claimed to know who the boy is or claim to be him, nothing
was ever determined. Is it better that the viewer does not have the answer?
Though Sontag argues that “[t]he problem
is not that people remember through photographs but that they remember only the
photographs,” in cases such as this with the ghetto uprising, there is nothing
else to remember (Sontag, 14). The ghetto uprising was not a publicized event
and was not well documented (the album is one of few instances of pictures of
the inside of the ghetto). The image was only made public after the war as well;
therefore, one can only base one’s memories through photographs (in addition to
textual material). While Sontag’s statement is true in many instances, for
events that were not made known while it was taking place, photographs may be the
only documentation that an event occurred, meaning that one can only remember
the photographs.
It is important to note that
the photograph changed its meaning. What was once a photograph to celebrate a
victory in 1943 became proof of the Nazis crimes against them in court in 1945
and later helped convict someone in 1969. Therefore, a singular photograph,
taken by a person on the side of the Nazis during the war, changed meaning
because of who used it and for what purpose. It is a testament to the statement
that “history is written by the victors.” While the photograph is important,
the force behind it is important as well, as it guides its meaning and the
viewer’s response, as Sontag suggests with her discussion on photograph
captions: “the image, like all images, is an invitation to look, the caption,
more often than not, insists on the difficulty of doing just that” (Sontag,
8-9). With knowledge of hindsight, as one has with subjects such as the
Holocaust, one does not have to see an image of a dead body in order to
understand the horrors of war. The look of fear and confusion in people’s
faces, especially a young boy’s face, can do that just as powerfully.
Post Script: All three albums were recovered after the war. Appropriately, they are held in American, German and Polish institutions: The U.S. National Archives, the Bundesarchiv in Germany, and the Institute for National Remembrance in Poland.
Sources:
Conot, Robert E. Justice at Nuremberg.
New York: Caroll & Graff Publishers, Inc., 1983.
Sontag, Susan. “Looking at War.” The New
Yorker, September 12, 2002.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Jews
captured by SS and SD troops during the
suppression of the
Warsaw ghetto uprising are forced to leave their shelter and march to
the Umschlagplatz
for deportation.” 2012. http://digitalassets.ushmm.org/photoarchives/detail.aspx?id=1088110&search=UPRISING+(GHETTO+WARSAW+BOY)&index=1
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “The
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising- Artifact.” 2012.
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