The YIVO Photo Archives holds more than 150,000 photographs. The Photo Archives includes images about Jewish life and culture in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia. The collection is particularly rich in photographs about Eastern Europe and North America. Noteworthy themes in the Photo Archives include Jewish communal and family life, political, religious, economic and social life, culture and the arts.The collection also reflects the activities of many Jewish relief and charitable organizations and is also known for its extensive group of images about the Holocaust and its aftermath. Photographs of personalities include images of Jewish political, communal and religious leaders, actors, writers, journalists and artists.
In this first phase of the YIVO Photo Archives website project, more than 9,000 catalog records of images held in the YIVO Photo Archives are available for browsing and searching. In the near future, additional information about the holdings of the Photo Archives, as well as a selection of digital images, will be added to the website.
