“It Was Wonderful, Like A Good Movie!”
Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry is a work of art that investigates the skill of the photographic witness. It is the culmination of face-to-face encounters with many of the most original photographers of our time. For over eight years photographer and author Penny Wolin traveled relentlessly across America, photographing and interviewing more than 70 of the leading and most original Jewish photographers in history. This book is the culmination of these unprecedented face-to-face encounters.
Arnold Newman told me a story of how young Ryszard survived the Auschwitz death camp. It was toward the end of the war and the Nazis had cranked up the killing machines. The order was given to round up the children at the camp and send them to the gas chambers. In an act of momentary benevolence, Amon Goeth personally tipped off Ryszard’s uncles (the musicians portrayed in Schindler’s List) that the soldiers were coming for the children. His uncles hid him in the barracks of the Jewish police. From the window, Ryszard watched as child upon child was crammed into a truck, and its precious cargo taken away. – PW
