FRAGMENTS | Wilhelm Brasse

Wilhelm Brasse, a Polish Jewish photographer, found himself imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. Recognizing his skills in portrait photography, the camp authorities appointed Brasse as the official photographer, tasked with capturing various subjects under their command. This included documenting medical experiments conducted on humans, depicting the labor of prisoners within the camp, and taking identification photographs for the prisoners' records. Brasse estimated that between 1940 and 1945, he took approximately 40,000 to 50,000 identification photos.

Following the end of the war, Brasse was liberated by American forces in May 1945, marking the end of his time in captivity.