Chalutzim—Zionist Photography in Germany and Palestine in the 1930s: A Comparative Analysis of Images

Abstract

This article reconstructs and compares photographic perspectives on the historical phenomenon of preparing German-Jewish youth for emigration from Germany, and their subsequent training in Palestinian kibbutzim in the framework of the hachshara and the youth aliyah. It considers the photographers’ status, differentiating between professional photography and the work of amateurs, and investigates the use and addressees of these images. The image analysis that underlies this study examines facets of the photographic and pictorial conception of chalutzian youth, including motifs, style, and atmospheres. In the process, photography is classified as a unique historical image source, in which the conditions of the time inscribe themselves even beyond personal and political intentions, interests, and contexts of usage. The image analysis also aims to reconstruct the specific, visually represented individual and collective experiences of the producers and addressees of photographic images in Germany and Mandatory Palestine.