Can you provide an overview of how the project started?

It began with the establishment of the website holokausztfoto.hu. The initial idea actually came from Miklós Tamási, co-founder of Fortepan, who is involved in various regional photographic heritage projects. There has generally been some debate about the number of Holocaust-related photos in Hungary. In reality, this issue hasn’t been thoroughly explored before, it has always been approached partially, in an ad hoc manner, resulting in the same photos being repeatedly discussed, often with incorrect dates. We wanted to create a dedicated platform for these photos, hoping that more unknown images might come to light. Since I always sympathise with Miklós's ideas, we joined this endeavour. Although the website was launched with a certain number of photos, it soon became evident that this represented only a small fraction of the available material. We were uncertain about the extent of additional content that could be included beyond mere photo collection. This raised the question: what other materials could be incorporated? However, it was apparent that this alone might be inadequate or too narrowly focused, especially considering the scarcity of surviving photographs over time.

Summer vacation, Balatonfüred, Hungary, source: Orthodox Archives, Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community of Hungary

Therefore, we decided to suspend that project halfway through as there was still ample room for improvement, supplementation, and data refinement. Instead, we opted to seek funding from an international foundation to establish a larger-scale database and develop a comprehensive website. We were successful in securing the grant, leading to the start of the J Photo Archive project, which aims to collect and digitally preserve photos related to the Hungarian Jewish community.

During the planning phase, we already knew that there wouldn't be many photos that were freely available and usable. However, we believed that it might still interest both collections and individuals if they had the opportunity to showcase their own materials on a new platform. The institutions we work with generally do not focus solely on Jewish subjects but encompass various collections, with some portion relating to this area. Our focus was to provide them with the chance to display their photos, even if we do not acquire the rights to the images or if they do not necessarily become freely available for use.

Primarily, we reached out to Jewish communities, archives, and museums. Progress is gradual, sometimes picking up momentum, sometimes stalling, but always moving forward. It's important to note that the project solely focuses on digital preservation. We never aimed to collect original prints or negatives.

What criteria do you employ when selecting images?

Group photo on the roof of the Kazinczy Street building, Budapest, Hungary, 1990s, source: Orthodox Archives, Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community of Hungary

As for us, we thought we would wait and see what comes of this, how many photos accumulate. By now, there are nearly seven thousand images in the collection, including the new materials we received recently from the Orthodox archives. I believe that with these new additions, aesthetic considerations are increasingly coming into play. Initially, we were delighted with every image, and I recall they passed through more easily. However, now we are more discerning. For instance, among private photos, we prefer those that are unique and carry valuable information. In our selection process, we follow a classical aesthetic criterion to avoid repetition and ensure each image finds its place in the collection. It's important to avoid unnecessary images that essentially don't convey information. At the same time, the widespread use of cameras in the twentieth century naturally resulted in the frequent recurrence of themes such as holidays and birthdays. These images also contribute to shaping our collective memory, as do the less conventional subjects.

Unveiling of a commemorative plaque in the courtyard of the Kazinczy Street Church, Budapest, Hungary, 4th July, 1992, source: Orthodox Archives, Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community of Hungary

Also, by incorporating private photos into the website, we want to encourage others to see this opportunity as open to them as well. Therefore, it's crucial to motivate people to confidently share their photos, become part of the community, and participate in the work of the archive. Family photos currently constitute approximately ten percent of the collection, and we anticipate that this aspect will gain greater significance. We have many plans, which we hope will come together soon.

The proportion of family pictures is currently undergoing significant change as we are currently working on digitising a private collection containing nearly a thousand photos. The twelve albums, which we received from Sári Stenczer, consist of highly unique images accompanied by journal entries. Her grandmother in Budapest was taking photographs while her grandfather was held as forced labourer – who also took pictures in that same period.

With this rich material, we plan to work on it as a separate project in the future. The appearance of such special pictures in the collection is hopefully going to serve as a motivation for more people to contribute their own photos to the archive.

We thought it would be easy to obtain photos from institutions, assuming they would have less to do with this task if these photos were already available in digital format. However, if not, then we would undertake the digitisation work ourselves. The Hungarian National Museum, the Petőfi Literary Museum, and the Kassák Museum are part of the partnership agreements we have established. We are in contact with the Hungarian National Archives, which has been operating in a highly centralised manner for nearly ten years now. We managed to reach an agreement with the management, so the branch archives or county archives do not need to enter separate contracts with us.

Tamás Féner: József Schweitzer at Sukkot, Budapest, Hungary, source: Tamás Féner's Private Property

Among the regional Jewish communities, we have the best relationship with the Jewish congregation in Szeged. The reason for this is that they have a small but very well-preserved collection, an archive – which is unique, this is not characteristic of the other communities. They have already processed this collection relatively thoroughly, and they are very helpful and have many photos.

Tamás Székely: Makeup before the wedding in the synagogue,Pécs, Hungary, 6th September, 1970, source: Andrásné Stark

From the other regional communities, we received much less or no material at all. Local religious organisations and Jewish communities, on the one hand, are very few, and they did not have the capacity to organise their archival materials, or much of it had already been submitted to the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives in Budapest. Additionally, photos have been transferred from Fortepan and some came from private contributors. Most of the private photographs are from the legacy of Chief Rabbi Jenő Schück, who received these images mostly from people who emigrated but maintained some kind of connection with their rabbi.

You mentioned that the Jewish identity is a flexible category. How does this characteristic impact the archive?

The question of Jewish identity became notably complex with the ascension of Nazi ideologies. During that period, the term "Jewish" became discredited and was used as a derogatory slur and lost its connotation of personal identity or religious practice. Through the lens of the 20th century, we aim to underscore the sheer absurdity and cruelty of anti-Semitism while highlighting the inherent connection between the Jewish people and the Hungarian people. These identities were deeply intertwined. Following the war, in the Communist era, the regime maintained silence on Holocaust-related topics, making it difficult to openly discuss what happened during the war. We frequently encounter narratives depicting how during these years, discussing recent history or aspects of Jewish identity outside of one’s religious community was considered off-limits, almost as an automatic rule.

Dr. Endre Szántó: Forced labourer shaving in the mirror, Transylvania, Medvevölgy (40 km from Borşa), Romania, September - December, 1940, source: Dr. István Szántó

In many pictures, one cannot recognise anything specifically Jewish even though they depict Jewish everyday life. The assimilated segment of Hungarian Jews is not discernible, as they blend in with non-Jewish individuals. But these images raise an almost infinite number of questions on individual identity, how it can be ignored or embraced by society, and of course there are also the historical, religious, and cultural aspects that can be explored. I hope that more and more research of this nature will commence or continue, such as on Jewish photographers or the use of photography in Jewish contexts. This is also our endeavour, to showcase as many Jewish photographers as possible, not only the renowned artists but also the craftsmen working in Hungary in the 20th century. Photography was another area where Jews were over-represented, not only among journalists, lawyers, and doctors. Fundamentally, Jewish people have responded to the changes of the modern era and the storms of history with different responses, thus making this identity very diversified – we want to display this variability.