In 1944 photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt went up to Oswego, NY on the southern bank of Lake Ontario. Jewish refugees rescued from wartime Nazi-occupied Europe were being housed at Fort Ontario, former army camp converted to a safe haven for refugees by Pres. Roosevelt. Here are the remarkable portraits by Alfred Eisenstaedt.
Dancing for the locals who have come to gawk
Yugoslavian partisan and art student Edith Semjen
Viennese clothing merchant Siegmund Alster
Underground station operator Matilda Nitsch
Artist from Kiev Vladimir Zobotin
Viennese scenario writer and novelist Dr. Ernst Wolff
Viennese lacemaker Schleume Frischwasser
Viennese editor and playwright Dr. Arthur Ernst
The Desdner family, consisting of mother, father and nine children
Viennese doctor Else Regenhardt
The Albrecht family (with childen Peter, 10 and Renata, 5) from Austria (he is Jewish, she is Catholic)
Talking with locals on the other side of the fence
German stage designer and teacher Siegried Kuttner
Swiss Jew Eva Bass, formerly a nightclub singer in Paris, entering refugee camp at Fort Ontario, with her children Yolanda and Joachim, whom she carried on a sixty-kilometer trek through the fighting lines to reach American transport ship Henry Gibbins
Yugoslavian banker from Zagreb, Julius Hirschler
Danzig native Lola Kauert
Bucharest furrier and capmaker David Fliegler who had lived in NY in 1904
Jewish refugee from Tripoli Victor Franco and his daughter waiting at gate for arrival of his pregnant wife, who was transported to Fort Ontario by hospital car
Mr. and Mrs. Michele Mikhailoff, artists from Russia
Photos licensed for personal non-commercial use only by LIFE.
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alfred eisenstaedt is one of my favourite photographers. i actually heard about fort ontario for the first time last month on a radio show. i couldn't believe that i didn't know about the jewish diaspora in this country around that time.
Joachim (Jack) Bass is a friend of mine. He is a remarkable man with a remarkable story. Thank you, Jack!
Amy, glad you found him here. Please let Jack know about the photo.