MARCH 31 • 2022 | 91

ARTS&LIFE
BOOK REVIEW

I

n 2010, Krysztof Janus, an architectural 
engineer working on renovating some 
buildings in Lublin, Poland, found an 
unexpected treasure in the abandoned 
attic at 4 Rynek. There he discovered, 
buried under trash and dirt — actual soil 
— glass plates, photographic negatives on 
thin glass sheets, each a bit smaller than 
four by six inches. 
Digging further, the engineer found 
about 2,700 of these glass plates, a package 
weighing some 440 pounds. 
The local cultural center, Grodzka Gate 
— NN Theatre, arranged to have the mys-
terious glass plates cleaned and restored. 
Some of the plates went on display at 
Grodzka Gate, located in the 14th-century 
building that marked the border between 

the Jewish and non-Jewish areas of Lublin. 
 On a trip in 2018 exploring other 
aspects of Jewish history, Aaron Lansky 
and Lisa Kassow happened to see the glass 
plates on display there. Lansky, whose field 
is Yiddish literature, and Kassow, a former 
professional photographer, felt astonished 
by the treasure they had seen. 
When the cultural center first got the 
photographic negatives, Lansky observes, 
“No one had a clue where they came from, 
or who took them or how they got there.”
In 2015, one of the Grodzka Gate 
associates, Jakub Chmielewski, discov-
ered a German document from 1940 
identifying a resident of 4 Rynek as 
“
Abram Zylberberg, photographer.” Later 
research uncovered a few details about 

Zylberberg. He wore 
sidelocks, but not so long as those of the 
Hasidim. He went everywhere with his 
tripod and camera. He also worked as a 
carpenter. 
Lansky, director of the Yiddish Book 
Center in Amherst, Massachusetts, 
assigned a staff member, Lisa Newman, to 
work with Piotr Nazaruk, the curator of 
Grodzka Gate, to research the photographs 
in the hopes of developing a documentary 
or a book. 

A Peek Back in Time
The Glass Plates of Lublin: Found Photographs 
of a Lost Jewish World.

LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Aaron Lansky

A few photos from The Glass Plates of Lublin.

COURTESY OF GRODZKA GATE THEATRE CENTRE, LUBLIN, POLAND/WHITE GOAT PRESS.

continued on page 92

