"how do i get hold of footage of Jewish Life before and during WWI without paying lots of $$?

November 22, 2007 3:59 AM

I am looking for holocaust archive footage of the ghettoes - without paying a fortune. shouldn't this be public domain? where?

I am looking for movie footage of jewish life in the ghettoes and pre WW II.

i have found some sources selling the footage- but i assume it would be public domain by now? where can i get it for free or cheap?

looked all over but haven't found any helpful information. (still waiting for a USHM response- yad vashem wasnt able to help when i called).

this is for a museum project.

thank you!

posted by Izzmeister to media & arts (7 comments total)

Have you tried archive.org?
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 4:05 AM on November 22, 2007

Thank You! i'll search there now....

more replies appreciated... :) !
posted by Izzmeister at 4:28 AM on November 22, 2007

the u.s. holocaust museum has resources for teachers.
posted by thinkingwoman at 5:06 AM on November 22, 2007

You can also try contacting the Shoah Foundation. While most of their stuff is testimony from survivors, they may have video footage or at least know where you can obtain it.
posted by brina at 5:17 AM on November 22, 2007

The folks in the education dept at the Museum of Jewish Heritage are great. I'm confident they'll be able to help you out.
posted by blaneyphoto at 8:27 AM on November 22, 2007

Yad Vashem may also have some materials that you can access.
posted by bassjump at 8:49 AM on November 22, 2007

Surprisingly, YouTube has a decent bunch of videos up about pre-WWII Jewish life in European cities. Here's one about Jewish life in Kovno (Kaunas, Lithuania), Riga (Latvia), and L'vov (L'viv, Ukraine) from 1929. The same person also has videos up from 1933 Munkacsz, Hungary and 1930 Sokolow, Poland. Presumably his source videos are copyright-free; maybe write him and ask where he got them?

Also, check out the Steven Spielberg Film and Video archive at the US Holocaust museum; they're adding and digitizing new films all the time. Their FAQ says they can make copies of the masters of some of the films for you.
posted by Asparagirl at 8:58 AM on November 22, 2007