Photograph of Shmul Messer with fellow soldiers
A photograph depicting five soldiers of the 1st Polish Corps of the Russian Empire. In the center of the photograph is Shmul Messer, the brother of the contributor's grandfather. There is no title. Most likely, the photograph depicts friends and fellow soldiers who took this photograph so that they would not forget each other during World War I. Shmul served in the 1st Polish Corps, which was created to participate in hostilities on the side of the Russian Empire. Later, the corps came under the control of the Kingdom of Poland and fought against the Bolsheviks. The corps took part in the battles for Minsk and the Bobruisk Fortress, as well as other battles on the territory of modern Belarus.
The photograph was taken a few weeks before the October Revolution, on 5 October 1917, in Minsk. Under the group portrait, the surname of each person is written in Russian: Райхъ (Reich), Вайценблют or Вайценблум (Weitzembliut/Weitzenblum), Мессер (Messer), Швандер (Schwander), Липшицъ (Lipshitz).
On the back of the photograph is an inscription in Yiddish: In fond memory of my friend Lipa Rotmensz. Signed Schmul Messer; October 5, 1917. צום אנדענקען מיינעם חבר ליפה, ראטמענטש, צייכנע שמועל מעססער
The stamp shows the inscription: Photograph by L. Epstein, further on is illegible.
- Military
- War
- Russian
- Yiddish
