“THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF ITS KIND”: RARE PRINTING OF HOLOCAUST PHOTOGRAPHS

(HOLOCAUST) TAFFET, Gershon. Extermination of Polish Jews. (Lodz): (circa 1945). Oblong folio (13 by 9-1/2 inches), original black-and-white printed paper boards. $1600.

First edition of this rare and early published collection of Holocaust photographs.

Produced by the Jewish Historical Committee in Poland, this album chronicles the atrocities of the ghettos and death camps with over 200 photographs captioned in English, Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, Polish, and French. “The Jewish Central Historical Committee has undertaken the task of collecting most complete materials, concerning the period of German-Hitlerian occupation in Poland and of the crimes, committed on the Jewish population by the occupants…. The present, an album of photographs, entitled ‘The Extermination of the Jews’ in Poland, is the first publication of this kind. The present album aims at presenting a global outline of the process of exterminating the Jews in Poland.” The introduction, written by Gershon Taffet, notes that “This album is meant to be an illustration of the most characteristic events of Jewish life under the German Hitlerian occupation… It is characteristic for the mentality of these murderers, that they had a general liking for keeping ‘charming’ keepsakes of their criminal and cruel activities. The most popular form was to register their ‘achievements’ by taking amateur photographs. We owe to this hobby of the Hitlerian criminalists a most important source of documentation.”

Book recased, with later endpapers. Some creasing, light chipping and tape repair to original flexible paper boards. Very good condition. Rare and important.