Archive Photographer Rudolf Jonas Israel 1930-60 Jewish German Photo Art Germany

Description

Archive Photographer Rudolf Jonas Israel 1930-60 Jewish German Photo Art Germany
Rudolf Jonas
(1898-1972)
Archive of the Jewish-German photographer
which includes about 700 Negatives and about 1,000 Photographs, taken in Eretz Israel
during the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
This Archive has not been researched or scanned except for the photographs attached here.
Apart from the negatives in this Jonas Estate,
others Jonas negatives
exist only in the
Keren Hayesod archive,
currently in the Central Zionist Archives. Keren Hayesod did not
return the
negatives to the photographers.
Jonas complained about it and attached here draft
letters to Keren Hayesod with Jonas c
omplaints
. His negatives in Keren Hayesod
from the years that
he worked with Keren Hayesod. Jonas left
Keren Hayesod
and start working with the International
Photo Agency "Keystone".
Rudolf Jonas
Was born in Bromberg / Bydgoszcz, Germany; (the city was annexed to Poland in 1919)
on December 13, 1898,
to a family of fur-traders. During WWI served as a soldier and when the war ended
started
to study law in Berlin and Marburg
where he became familiar with the Zionist movement and as a
result
came to Palestine on a visit in the 1920s, and documented the country
with his camera.
Upon the rise of the Nazis to power and the persecution of Jews in Germany, SS soldiers searched his home.
When the "Iron Cross" (Eisernes Kreuz) with which he was decorated for service as a soldier in WWI
was found between his belongings,
one of the soldiers told him: "I recommend that you disappear for a while".
Jonas made Aliya to Eretz Israel in September 1933
and started to work as a photographer for "Keren HaYessod"
and was even sent to Italy by this organization to visit Jewish communities
and collect donations for Zionist
activities in Eretz Israel. When WWII ended, he started to work as a professional photographer
and as the representative in Israel of "Keystone" international photography agency. During the late 1940s,
in the midst of the Independence War,
Jonas lived on Gaza Street in Jerusalem and his photos were published in the local and international press.
(some of his photos
were printed in the calendar "Eretz-Israel, Artistic Calendar" for 1948 printed by
"Leon the Printer", alongside with photos
by leading photographers of the period: Helmar Larsky,
Zoltan Kluger,
Rudi Weisenstein and Alfred Bernheim).
When the Independence War came to an end Jonas
moved to
Haifa and continued his work as a journalist and photographer for "Keystone" agency
until
the 1960s. Even though Jonas lived most of his life in Eretz Israel he was attached with all his heart to his
mother
tongue
and to his homeland carrying all his life the insult that he felt when forced to leave Germany.
Jonas died in Haifa in April 1972, childless and with no heirs
.
The archive
Includes about one thousand photos
(some double), taken with his Rolleiflex Camera, most
of
them 6X6 cm.
The photos are arranged in tens
of envelopes most of them attached to negatives the
way Jonas
organized and filed them. Some of the envelopes are annotated
in Jonas's handwriting and many of
the photos are ink-stamped on the reverse with Jonas's ink-stamp.
Amongst the locations and events documented
are tens of photos of holocaust survivors arriving in Eretz Israel from the Cyprus Detention Camps by
ships
to Haifa Port;
P
hotos of holocaust survivors arriving in Eretz Israel From Europe to
Rosh Hanikra
(
Ras an- Nakora
)
o
n the Israeli-Lebanon border
and also from Europe through Iran to the border point in
Rosh Hanikra
;
activities
of schools and educational institutions;
national ceremonies and official events, some with the participation of
"Yishuv" leaders (David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett and others);
photos of "Olim" disembarking boats; establishment of
"Tower and Stckade" settlements (such as the establishment of Kibbutz Dalia); T
he founding ceremony of Kibbutz Baram
and the ancient synagogue in Baram; Housing projects for "Olim" in Haifa
and numerous photos of Haifa and the vicinity;
Photos from both ports of Israel in Haifa and Tel Aviv and their activities including demonstrations.
photos of
the unveiling ceremony of the "Avoda ve Hagana" memorial by the sculptor
Batya Lishansky in Kibbutz Hulda (1929);
photos of Rosh Hanikra, Sassa, Rechovot, Kalia (1938), Ancient Acre, Tel-Aviv, Ramla, Ben-Shemen,
Afula, Atlit, interesting
photos of the Independence War period including photos of Peki'in and its ancient synagogue; iron and metal industries,
"Asis" factory and "Shemen" industries in Haifa; leaders of the Druze on Mount Carmel; photos of the Dome
of the Rock
and the Temple Mount.
Tens of photos documenting the visit of the UNSCOP committee –
United Nations
Special Committee
on Palestine
(1947) to Eretz Israel,
in the Arab countries in the area
and
in Europe (where the
committee
visited DPC's) –
it seems that as a "Keystone" agency worker Jonas accompanied the delegation.
Younes appears in several photographs taken by a tripod or by his friends among the photographers
(Attached photo of Jonas in the front).
The archive also includes several letters sent to Jonas and hand copies of letters that Jonas sent, some large photos to which
handwritten letters are attached,
several photos of Jonas, sketch for a business-card (Attached photo). Also includes Israel
1948 calendar with photos taken by Jonas and "In Past & Present" Photos Album of Eretz Israel from 1939 that include
photos
taken by Jonas.
Certificate is attached
The Certificate issued by a lawyer specializing in copyrights certifying that the photos were taken prior
to the 1950s' or during the 1950s'
and are not subject to any copyright limitations. The holder of these photos and
negatives
can use them as he pleases.
Literature:
1)
Und sie haben Deutschland verlassen... müssen,‎ Fotografen und ihre Bilder, 1928-1997.
[Projektleitung]: Klaus Honeff,
Frank Weyers. Bonn: Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, Landschaftsverband
Rheinland, 1997, chapter on
Rudolf Jonas pages
269-271.
2)
Israel's Photographers, from early days of photography to the present day, by Guy Raz. Tel-Aviv:
"Mappa", 2003,
chapter on
Rudolf Jonas page
113.
Shipping & Handling in hard cover internationally:
( EMS registered & Insured air mail, worldwide).
In Israel &15.
Payment: I accept PayPal.
Please see photos for details and condition,
and feel free to inquire if in doubt.
I GUARANTEE FOR THE AUTHENTICITY OF THIS ARCHIVE.
Thank you, and good luck.
inkfrog terapeak