Poland 1940-41

Jewish ghetto and the occupation of Poland

This unknown and unique archive consisted of three rolls of German Agfa Isopan F film in round aluminum metal canisters. On one container was written in pencil the date 1940 and an unreadable handwritten inscription. After I received these films, I washed, cleaned, and scanned them. All three rolls of film were taken by an unknown German military policeman from the Feldgendarmerie during the conquest and occupation of Poland.

The German military police became a symbol of the brutal Nazi occupation regime and at the same time were the core of iron discipline. They were ruthless. They were often referred to as "the Führer's chain dogs." During World War II, the German Felgendarmerie had extensive police powers. These included: controlling traffic, maintaining military order and discipline; collecting and escorting prisoners of war; controlling civilians in occupied territories; preventing sabotage; cooperating with the secret field police; arresting deserters; and countering partisans.

On the negatives of this unknown German military policeman, who took pictures from approximately 1939-41, we see photographs of German troops marching during a parade in the presence of high-ranking German army officials in Krakow in 1940, pictures of Polish citizens and a flood in Warsaw. One of the films included unique photographs taken inside a Jewish ghetto, showing the daily horrors and life, under constant fear of death, of Polish Jews. At the moment, unfortunately, it has not been possible to establish the exact location where these photographs were taken. However, these images have great historical value as evidence of wartime crimes and horrific events in Poland during the largest armed conflict in human history.