1930s Warsaw through the lens of a French amateur photographer

In the summer of 1933, representatives of French National Union of Combatants arrived in Poland. In the weeks between July 30 and August 14, the delegation visited Lesser Poland, Silesia, Greater Poland, Pomerania, and Masovia. One of the group members took a photo camera with him. At the time, models with 135 mm photographic film were already commonly available. Mass production of these devices began in 1925. Thanks to the camera, the whole trip was thoroughly documented. Many decades later, the album with the photos taken by the French veteran was added to the National Library of Israel collection, where we have found its digitalised version.

The album consists of more than 400 photographs. The author attached them to black pasteboard pages and added handritten captions in bright ink, which indicate particular locations and buildings. We are not sure whether the photograph were placed in chronological order, but, if that was the case, the visit to Poland had begun in Kraków, from where the veterans went on to Wieliczka, Gorlice, and Zakopane. The following pages contain pictures from Katowice, Poznań, Toruń, and Gdynia. The final stage of the trip was Warsaw.

The visit had an official character and thus the French delegation was welcomed with military honours. The photos show representative honour guard companies and officials prepared special welcome for the French at railway stations. A military orchestra greeted the guests at Warsaw's Main Station at the intersection of Aleje Jerozolimskie and Marszałkowska Street. In Gorlice, the photographer took two pictures from the train, that show soldiers in full dress and civilians in elegant attire waiting down at the platform. In Wieliczka, the travellers were greeted by local children dressed in traditional Kraków costumes.

Apart from participating in the official welcoming ceremonies, the French guests also had time to visit typical tourist attractions. In the album, there is no shortage of postcard shots of the Tatra Mountains and the Baltic Sea, there are photos of the Wawel Castle, historic tenement houses at Poznań Old Market Square, or chambers of the Silesian Parliament in Katowice.

In Warsaw, the delegates laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In one of the photos, the author captured the no-longer-existing collonade of the Saxon Palace. The photo takes us back in time and shows us how this place had looked before it was demolished during WWII. There is also another view no longer available today - the ceremony attendees lined up in front of the Prince Józef Poniatowski Monument, which at the time stood at Piłsudski Square. They also struck a pose in front of the Fryderyk Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park, Nicolaus Copernicus Monument at Krakowskie Przedmieście, and at Sigismund's Column at the Castle Square.

According to expert on Warsaw Ryszard Mączewski, these are amateur photos, taken in a manner typical of tourists, thanks to which can spot interesting details in commonly known locations. "For instance, we know Adam Mickiewicz Monument from dozens of photos taken from every side, whereas in a photo from the album we see a line of taxis waiting for clients. Because the photographer showed this place slighly differently than usual, it makes the image more interesting. I probably haven't seen such a take before," Mączewski told tvnwarszawa.pl.

The author also captured waiting taxi cabs and a city bus at the Old Town Market Square. Even one cyclist did not escape the eye of the camera. At the Kierbedź Bridge, we can see passing cars and horse-drawn carriages.

There is also a photo of two men standing in front a building the delegation could have stayed in. "It's the no longer existing Hotel Brülowski at the corner of Niecała and Fredry (streets - edit.). The hotel overlooked the Saxon Garden, it stood in a prime location," Mączewski added.

"It's clear that the French went all over Warsaw," the expert said. They saw the Old Town, the Saxon Garden, Łazienki Park, and Wilanów Palace. "They also went to Praga, where they took a picture of Saint Mary Magdalene Orthodox Cathedral. On the way there, they took a photo of themselves at the Kierbedź Bridge. Unexpectedly, the two images are separated with a picture of a completely non-tourist place - grain silos in the West Station area. The photo could have been taken from a train window. But if the delegation came to Warsaw from Gdynia, the train would have arrived from the direction of Modlin. It's a mystery why this photo was placed here. It really doesn't fit the rest," Mączewski said.

The veterans also documented their visit to Three Crosses Square - one of the photos shows St. Alexander's Church in its interwar shape. "At the time it looked completely different. A small church stands here today. Initially it had looked that way, but it was later decided that the temple - built in 1826 - was too small, and so it was expanded at the end of the 19th century. Anyone who hasn't seen many old photos of Warsaw may be surprised with that view," the expert said.

There is also a very unusual photo of two men standing next to an air bomb. "This is Napoleon Square and the bomb is an advertisement of Airborne and Antigas Defence League, LOPP for short. Such bombs could be found in at least two places in Warsaw - at Napoleon Square and in front of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego in Aleje Jerozolimskie," Mączewski explains. The bright walls of interwar Poland's tallest building - the Prudential House - can be seen in the background.

Archivists from the National Library of Israel have paid particular attention to Warsaw's Northern Quarter, which was home to the city's Jewish community. It is possible that it was the French who handed the album to the collection in Jerusalem.

The Northern Quarter, also known as Nalewki district, was located northwest of the Old Town. Jews were historically and economically connected to this area. Interwar Warsaw had nearly 1.2 million residents, of which over 300,000 were Jewish. Nearly half of the city's inhabitants were petite bourgeoisie - merchants, business owners, and craftsmen had their shops, warehouses, and factories in the district. Jewish workers also made their living there. The commercial character of that place, its hustle and bustle, were captured by the French amateur photographer.

We asked Dr Agnieszka Żółkiewska of the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute for help in identifying the streets the French delegation had walked along. "It's a journey to a world very difficult to recognise. There are some places, signs, and traces leading us to certain locations. The problem is that right as we start our research, we encounter a labyrinth of sorts. We discover that people whose names we see on the signboards had a very interesting past in terms of commerce and location. They were incredibely mobile within the Warsaw area," she explained.

One photo shows Henoch Centner's Paper Company. According to the expert, the owner ran his business in multiple locations. "One of the shops was in a very prestigious location - at Krakowskie Przedmieście. Later it was moved to Grzybowska Street. Unfortunately, we weren't able to determine the address from 1933," she said.

"Maybe, as was the custom, it's the owner who is sitting on the curb, inviting passersby to come in. Of course this is all based on impressions and assumptions. It's possible that his business was going bankrupt with each year. We can see that he billed his business as a paper shop, but on the side billboards he was offering a very wide variety of products unrelated with this industry," Dr Żółkiewska argues.

She adds, however, that said variety of merchandise was not necessarily dictated by the hard economic situation. "Multibranch trade was the driving force of Jewish small businesses. They simply tried to function as micro department stores at which you could buy anything you needed. That made them able to compete with other merchants."

According to Dr Żółkiewska, the multiple change of address and the variety of offered products attested the to exceptional adaptation skills of Jewish traders, which was something that other business people often lacked. She explains that along the years they would seek all sorts of ways to survive, which can be traced in address books. "Warsaw is a perfect example of how Jewish merchants adapted to the changing economic climate and the needs of clients. The were always competitive in terms of prices, but not necessarily when it comes to quality of products. It was always possible to buy cheaper at such shops or even on tick," she explains.

She also mentioned that the businesses photographed by the Frenchman could have changed significantly in the following years, because that period had only marked the beginning of economic crisis, and on top of that Jewish shops were later boycotted.

The signboard saying "Military Ornaments" was most likely located at Franciszkańska Street. "Accoding to address books and business records, Mordechai Nelken had a store at Franciszkańska 36. Maybe he moved it to number 33 (that number can be seen on the door). Franciszkańska was famous for its many bookstores, especially those selling books on religion," the historian says. We can see that the gateway next to the military shop is covered with signboards. On the other side there is also a cobbler's shop.

Another snaphot of the Jewish quarter shows a gateway to building number 20, above which there is a signboard saying "M. Goldman Glass Shop". Dr Żółkiewska says it is Nowolipie Street. "It was more or less in that period that Mordechai Goldman opened - apart from the glass shop - the first glazing putty factory in Poland, at least that's how he advertised it. It was therefore a business related with the industry he was already in. The factory's name was Kit-Pol and it was located at Nowolipie 26," the historian learned.

Right next in the album there is a photograph of a backyard at 15 Nalewki Street. "This is the favourite spot for photographers. We can see plenty of signboards here, a crowd of client and passersby. It was - as Singer rightly put it - a city within a city. You can perfectly see the embedded character of the Jewish quarter," Żółkiewska said.

"Nalewki of the turn of the 19th century was a district of wholesale and primitive shops. Very often, behind gateways to tenement houses, you would find countless workshops and warehouses. Hasidic Jews from Nalewski were acted mainly as trade middlemen and product distributors. According to various historical sources, Nalewki Street began to modernise in the late 1920s. Elegant and decorated shopwindows with modern lighting would appear," the historian added.

Images showing that part of the city stand in stark contrast to other ones in terms of motion. "Here, no one stands in one place. Everyone is moving. This mobility, this commotion of Jewish district's streets have been mentioned in many memories. This "flying" style of movement was even mandatory there, and that's because people were in a rush of doing business and earning in order to survive," Żółkiewska said, adding that a similar rush could be seen later on in the streets of the Warsaw Ghetto created by the Germans during WWII.

At Przejazd Street, the photographer captured two Orthodox Jews passing next to two Jewish women wearing fashionable dresses exposing their shoulders and legs. Their appearance manifests a clear separation from the conservatively dressed men. "This was characteristic of this community, both at the time as well as during cultural changes on Polish lands at the turn of the 19th century. Jewish women were always a few steps ahead of Jewish men. They weren't as much restricted with customs and religious duties as men, who were strongly tied to tradition. Not only mentally, but also in terms of appearance," Żółkiewska said.

She added that the author of the photos had deliberately spotted Jews dressed in traditional tunics, because they stood out from the rest. At the photo from Przejazd Street we can also see men wearing short clothes. "They are incredibly elegant, they wear Panama hats. Warsaw was considered fashion capital and Jews from the Nalewski district tried to match the looks of other Warsaw residents. I assume that in this crowd of elegantly dressed men, very goyish - that is shortly-clad and wearing a tie - there are some Orthodox Jews who would choose non-Jewish clothes and moved with the times because they knew the needs and the price of being modern," the expert said.

In her opinion, this was a common pattern within Jewish families associated with the Orthodox Aguda party, at the time considered very progressive. Its supporters would wear European-style clothes, shave or trimmed their beards short, at the same time following all the holidays and rituals. Their progressiveness would also be manifested in their approach to the education of children. Unlike Hasids, they would send their children to secular schools because they wanted to secure a better future for them.

The crowds captured in the images of the Jewish district are dominated by men. There are, however, some places in which the photographer came across women. In one of the photos, a brunette darts a flirtacious glance at the camera. She has a mild smile on her lips, an elegant hairstyle, and a plain dress. Also another young girl, wearing grey dress and bright shoes, is looking at the photographer. She turns in his direction as if she suddenly noticed him whilst walking.

"Emancipated Jewish women would be persecuted by Orthodox men for clothes that exposed their bodies, short sleeves and necklines. Men argued that their attires were unbecoming for Jewish women. Even in such progressive synagogue like the synagogue at Tłomackie (street - edit.) women would be checked at the entrance for whether they looked decent. There was also a group of religious officials which would control observing of the Shabbat, but as the Jewish community was becoming more modern, they would later switch into guardians of morality and Jewish decency," Żółkiewska said, adding that the guardians would primarily inspect the appearance and behaviour of women.

According to the historian, a small presence of women in the streets was partially due to the fact that they were mainly housewives at the time. In late 1930s, they would be reskilled partly as a result of the economic crisis which strongly affected Jewish families. They would be taught professions once considered inappropriate for Jewish women, such as servant, cook, and maid.

In the foreground of one of the pictures we can see a peasant woman wearing a spotted headscarf. "It was a very characteristic look of the Nalewki district because peasants would often deliver fresh country foods. What's interesting is that these contacts would be kept also when WWII broke out. The same people would come from nearby villages to do business in the ghetto, they would sell their products to the same families and often were involved in smuggling," Żółkiewska said.

A glazier carrying a wooden box with merchandise on his back is the focal point of a photograph taken at Wąski Dunaj Street. "This already the Old Town, its western part to be precise. According to sources dating back to 1430, it was where the first Jewish settlement in Warsaw," said Dr Żółkiewska. "At first, a very large percentage of Old Town residents were Jewish people. This would change along the years due to all kinds of restrictions, but Jews would always return to the same streets. They especially liked Wąski Dunaj, Żydowska, and Piwna - the oldest streets of Warsaw.

Various accounts from the interwar period say that the Old Town was inhabited mainly by Jewish and Christian residents, mainly poor people. According to the expert, this area was a very interesting example of quite harmonious coexistence of the two groups. "We have evidence proving that - in difficult moments such as scuffles, boycotts, or pogroms, which did take place in Warsaw in late 19th and early 20th century - the local Christian residents supported their Jewish neighbours. This coexistence would continue later in the interwar period," she added.

The perception of the Jewish district would change with time, but through the majority of years it was considered a separate world in the very heart of Warsaw. "Unfortunately, various historical circumstances would favour the isolation of this part of town. In pre- and post-war recollections, in the eyes of non-Jews, it was seen as an exotic place, peculiar, inaccessible. Many people couldn't see outside commonly shared stereotypes. This unceasing motion - Jews always selling something, bargaining with each other - was usually tagged as peculiar. An empathic approach, or at least one trying to understand this world, was very rare," Dr Żółkiewska said.

She points out, however, that residents of Warsaw would mainly buy products in Jewish shops, also those located in other parts of the city, such Powiśle or Praga. "What's very characteristic of the Jewish quarter of that period is it wasn't home to assimilated Jews, or those who wanted to become Poles of jewish descent. Those already moved out of the Northern Quarter and they were usually affluent or showbusiness people. They would meet with friends outside the district borders - in trendy venues at Kredytowa, Marszałkowska, or Aleje Jerozolimskie," she listed.

But that does not mean that non-Jewish residents of Warsaw stayed clear of this district. "What attracted people to Nalewki, was low prices and the food. The latter was considered as something special and exquisite. Drinking pejsakówka, a Jewish slivowitz, was also in good taste. Artistic avant-garde, snobbish people, would take night trips to the Jewish district in order to experience something new and exotic," the historian said.

Furthermore, Dr Żółkiewska says, the was a few restaurants on the culinary map of Warsaw especially loved by those in power. That list includes both reputable eateries and those less glamorous. "At Gnojna Street, there was Szynk Grubego Joska. Commonly considered a dive, it was frequented by the key politicians of Sanation (a Polish interwar political movement - edit.), such as prime minister Walery Sławek, general Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski, and marshal Bogusław Miedziński. General Wieniawa-Długoszowski was known for his Nalewki escapades held each time he drank a lot after dinner. Completely drunk, he would ride in a carriage shouting and singing all kinds of things," the expert said.

"People also loved Bojmowicz's confectionery products. Even when the ghetto was established, they would still come by to have their favourite cake. Kawiarnia pod Kukułką was known for the best bagels in Warsaw. People jumped the wall only to get a bagel," she added.

The expert says that the Great Synagogue of Tłomackie Street - at the time considered the most exquisite jewish temple in Warsaw - is nowhere to be found in the photos. "If a Warsaw Jew wanted to impress their cousin from New York or any other city, they would take them to the synagogue at Bank Square to boast about that magnificent building" - Żółkiewska explained.

We came across one more surprise in the album. Photos of the Jewish quarter were also found at pages devoted to the Kraków visit. According to an expert on Warsaw Ryszard Mączewski, at least three photos from that section had been actually taken in Warsaw. "The trams led me to this conclusion. They look very much like 'our ones'" - he said. According to his research, the photos could have been taken at Nowiniarska Street, nearby intersection with Franciszkańska.

The final pages of the album were filled with images of Tyrol, Vienna, and Innsbruck. It's possible the veterans had visited those places on their way back to France. The last pictures in the album - taken in November 1933 - show Strasbourg.

The full version of the album is available at the National Library of Israel website.