(Jewish / Chinese / Russian) Photographs of 1920s-1940s Harbin, Tien Tsin, Shanghai & Hong Kong
Author: MORDOHOVICH, Eddie (aka : Ilia / Zvi?)
Title: (Jewish / Chinese / Russian) Photographs of 1920s-1940s Harbin, Tien Tsin, Shanghai & Hong Kong
Publication: n.p.
Description: Unmounted Photographs. A photographic archive documenting the peripatetic life of a Russian Jew, his friends and their families, as they moved throughout southeast Asia before, during and after W.W.II. The photos center on Eddie Mordohovich and date from the late 1920s in Harbin, China, to well into the 1940s at various other Jewish Chinese havens including Hong Kong, Tien Tsin and Shanghai. Eddie (Ilia, Zvi?) is shown working as an engineer engaged in "Blowing up Bridges Sunday June 1939" (possibly ahead of the Japanese invasion), in a Naval Engineers uniform, in a 1930 group photo of the Betar Youth Movement in Harbin; as well as in an unidentified school class photo (sitters are named in Cyrillic on the verso, so we can't be sure) where the children are wearing decorative belt buckles and pins adorned with a Caduceus - normally a symbol of medicine. The archive consists of 129 photos in total (125 - Snapshot and Gem size, 2 - 8x10, 1 - 7x9 and 1 - 6x8), many with captions recto or verso ID'ing people and places. The condition of the photos in the archive range from fair only, to fine condition, with most photos being at least very good - some have been previously removed from album leaves or frames and some are trimmed. One of the group photos shows Mordohovitch with seven other members of The Betar Youth Movement - one being Mordechai Olmert, the father of Ehud Olmert who was the 12th prime minister of Israel, at their Headquarters in Harbin, China in 1930 (all eight persons are ID'd in a copy of the same photo held at The Museum of Jewish People in Tel Aviv. Also, we note that Mordohivich's first name "Ilia" is given as "Zvi" on the Museum's ID and thus infer that "Eddie" is possibly an Anglicized version of "Ilia". Further, a traveler with the name Mordohivich gave their first name as "Ilia" on a Ship's Manifest [a copy is included with this archive] on a trip out of Shanghai, on Aug. 16th, 1921 with a family member. Both were required to pay a "Head Tax" upon entering the USA). There are many interesting, complex and confusing stories within this photographic archive - all of which are written across multiple languages and cultures - and they await their telling. Very Good Overall.
A compelling archive with much room for further research. Ref. The Jewish Museum of History in Tel Aviv - photo ID Number: 229203 ; ancestry dot ca ; Industrial History of Hong Kong Group ; The Fugu Plan: The Untold Story of the Japanese and the Jews During World War II.
Seller ID: 4143
Subject: Film & Photography
