Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross

by Maia-Mari Sutnik (Editor), Bernice Eisenstein, Robert Jan Van Pelt

From 1941 to 1944, the Polish Jewish photographer Henryk Ross (1910–1991) was a member of an official team documenting the implementation of Nazi policies in the Lodz Ghetto. Covertly, he captured on film scores of both quotidian and intimate moments of Jewish life. In 1944, he buried thousands of negatives in an attempt to save this secret record. After the war, Ross returned to Poland to retrieve them. Although some were destroyed by nature and time, many negatives survived.
 
Memory Unearthed presents a selection of the nearly 3,000 surviving images—along with original prints and other archival material including curfew notices and newspapers—from the permanent collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Ross’s images offer a startling and moving new representation of one of humanity’s greatest tragedies. Striking for both their historical content and artistic quality, his photographs have a raw intimacy and emotional power that remain undiminished. 

Genres: History, World War II

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2014

Reviews

[marilyn ludzki · Rating 5 out of 5]

More photographs by the fearless Henryk Ross. Pls see my review of his first book, Lodz Ghetto Album.

Over 600 contact sheets with thousands of pictures taken with "stolen" film. I hope a third book is in the works

[Danelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Sarah Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new release and because of my autodidact approach to in addition to classes taken, I couldn't resist. As an illustration of the ghetto, this is about as realistic as you are going to find. I would definitely recommend reading this in conjunction with The Chronicle of the Lodz Ghetto, 1941-1944. Also, it helps if you are not in the depths of depression when approaching subjects such as this.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned of this book recently when reading about an exhibition of Henryk Ross' photographs. A few of these images were reproduced previously in The Chronicle of the Lodz Ghetto 1941-1944 edited by Lucjan Dobroszycki. I don't have much to say about them, except that people should look at them. The accompanying text varies from OK to somewhat overdone.