The Jewish holiday of Purim marks the deliverance of the Jews from a royal death decree. Explore these images of Purim celebrations before the outbreak of World War II.
Purim portrait of a kindergarten class
Purim portrait of a kindergarten class at the Reali Hebrew gymnasium. Kovno, Lithuania, March 5, 1939.
Item ViewChildren costumes for Purim costumes
Group portrait of children dressed in Purim costumes. Danzig, 1930-1939.
Item ViewAlice and Heinrich Muller in costume for Purim
Alice and Heinrich Muller pose for a photograph while in costume for the Purim holiday. Hlohovec, Czechoslovakia, ca. 1934–35.
Item ViewGroup portrait of students dressed in for Purim
Group portrait of students at the Beis Yaakov religious school for girls dressed in costumes to celebrate the holiday of Purim. Kolbuszowa, Poland, March 1938.
Item ViewTom and Wolf Stein in costumes for Purim
Tom (left) and Wolf Stein (right), dressed in Turkish-style costumes, attend a party celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim. Hamburg, Germany, 1936.
Item ViewCelebrating Purim
Members of the Chug Ivri (Hebrew Club) in Berlin celebrate Purim with food and song. On the wall is an advertisement for Juedische Rundschau, the newspaper of the German Zionist movement. Berlin, Germany, 1935.
Item ViewCelebrating Purim in Berlin
Members of Chug Ivri (Hebrew Club) of Berlin celebrate Purim. While the man in the tallis (prayer shawl) chants the story of Purim from the scroll, a young boy stands ready to use his grogger (noisemaker) to drown out the recitation of the name of Haman, the villain of the story. Berlin, Germany, 1935.
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