1940s

Vintage: Photos of American women in World War II

Vintage: Photos of American women in World War II

During World War II, approximately 400,000 U.S. women served with the armed forces and more than 460 – some sources say the figure is closer to 543 – lost their lives as a result of the war, including 16 from enemy fire. However, the U.S. decided not to use women in combat because public opinion would not tolerate it. Women…
Vintage Photos of Rural Romania in 1940s

Vintage Photos of Rural Romania in 1940s

During the Second World War, Romania tried to remain neutral, but on 28 June 1940, it received a Soviet ultimatum with an implied threat of invasion in the event of non-compliance. Under pressure from Moscow and Berlin, the Romanian administration and the army were forced to retreat from Bessarabia as well from Northern Bukovina to avoid war. This, in combination…
Vintage Glass-Plate Portraits from Romania (1940s)

Vintage Glass-Plate Portraits from Romania (1940s)

Amazing collection of portraits by Romanian photographer Costică Acsinte. Costică Acsinte was born 4th of July, 1897 in a small village called Perieți, Ialomița County, Costică Acsinte fought in WWI. Despite his formation as a pilot, he was a official war photographer till 15th of June, 1920. As soon as the war was over he opened a studio — „Foto…
Vintage: Classic Polish Films (1940s and 50s)

Vintage: Classic Polish Films (1940s and 50s)

After the horrors of the Nazi occupation and repressive postwar Soviet domination, Polish cinema suddenly took off in the mid-50s to become a major international force. Initially, it was Andrzej Wajda’s trilogy (1954-58) on wartime resistance that attracted attention. That was followed by a wave of films approaching contemporary society with skilful circumspection before there was a further clampdown in…
Vintage: Bergen-Belsen Nazi Concentration Camp Guards

Vintage: Bergen-Belsen Nazi Concentration Camp Guards

When British and Canadian troops finally entered Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in northern Germany they found over 13,000 unburied bodies and (including the satellite camps) around 60,000 inmates, most acutely sick and starving. The prisoners had been without food or water for days before the Allied arrival partially due to the allied bombing. In the period immediately preceding and following liberation, prisoners…
Finland during World War II

Finland during World War II

Finland during World War II encompasses three major conflicts. The first two of these – the defensive Winter War in 1939–1940, and the Continuation War alongside the Axis Powers in 1941–1944 – were waged against the Soviet Union. The third one, the Lapland War in 1944–1945, followed the signing of an armistice agreement with the Allied Powers, which stipulated expulsion…
Glass-Plate Family Portraits from Romania (1940s)

Glass-Plate Family Portraits from Romania (1940s)

Amazing collection of family portraits by Romanian photographer Costică Acsinte. Costică Acsinte was born 4th of July, 1897 in a small village called Perieți, Ialomița County, Costică Acsinte fought in WWI. Despite his formation as a pilot, he was a official war photographer till 15th of June, 1920. As soon as the war was over he opened a studio —…
Vintage: Police archives in Sydney (1930s and 40s)

Vintage: Police archives in Sydney (1930s and 40s)

The Historic Houses Trust in Australia has a forensic photography archive at the Justice & Police Museum which contains an estimated 130,000 images created by the New South Wales Police between 1910 and 1960. Images uncovered in Justice & Police Museum’s Forensic Photography Archive, capture the spaces left behind: a moody catalogue of vacant lots, empty roads, desolate interiors, crime…
Stanley Kubrick’s Photos from the 1940s

Stanley Kubrick’s Photos from the 1940s

Stanley Kubrick—who wrote and directed Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining—was one of America’s most influential filmmakers. Directors ranging from the Coen Brothers to Tim Burton paid visual homage to his works in their own films, and no less than Steven Spielberg said: “Nobody could shoot a picture better in history.” In fact…
Broken Glass-Plate Portraits from Romania (1940s)

Broken Glass-Plate Portraits from Romania (1940s)

Amazing collection of broken glass-plate portraits by Romanian photographer Costică Acsinte. Costică Acsinte was born 4th of July, 1897 in a small village called Perieți, Ialomița County, Costică Acsinte fought in WWI. Despite his formation as a pilot, he was a official war photographer till 15th of June, 1920. As soon as the war was over he opened a studio…