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Collections / Abraham Pisarek

Born in Poland in 1901, Abraham Pisarek emigrated to Germany in 1919, where he trained as a press photographer until the Nazi government blacklisted all Jews from employment in 1933. Alongside photographing 'tolerated' Jewish organisations and sports events, Pisarek also photographed 'forbidden' events such as Max Liebermann's funeral in secret. Although all cameras were confiscated from German Jews on 19 June 1942, Pisarek managed to continue to record Jewish life in Berlin. A unique and moving photographic record of the Jews who managed to remain in Berlin until 1942 is chronicled in Pisarek's private archive, which akg-images is proud to represent for editorial use.

		akg9IS-1938-0-0-A2-3 After the introduction of the Nuremberg Race Laws, Jews emigrate out of Nazi Germany to escape persecution. In this undated photograph from circa 1938, Jews pray on the deck of a ship on its way to Erez Israel, the British mandate of Palestine. Photo: Bildarchiv Pisarek / akg-images

1-L113-F1935 The guard of honour in the Jewish Cemetery in Schoenhauser Allee, Berlin, at the funeral of the painter Max Liebermann, February 1935. Pisarek's photographs of the artist's funeral were taken with a hidden camera, as official photography of such Jewish events was forbidden under the Nazis. Photo: Bildarchiv Pisarek / akg-images

		akg2-G75-J1-1936-206 Sports day for Jewish schools in Berlin on the sports ground of the Jewish District, 3 September 1936. Photo: Bildarchiv Pisarek / akg-images

akg2-R30-J1-1933-1 Children from the Jewish Orphanage in Berlin celebrate Simchat Torah, the last day of Sukkot, with candles and flags, in a photograph from 1933. Photo: Bildarchiv Pisarek / akg-images

		akg2-P75-J1-1938-7 9 November 1938: Lines of arrested Jewish men are led through a street in Baden-Baden on the day before 'Kristallnacht'. Photo: Bildarchiv Pisarek / akg-images