Photographer Lewis needs community help

ROBYN SASSEN

“I will photograph everything and return it to the people who own them,” he said, explaining the problems of gathering material for an archive for the JDAP. “It’s a call for family and institutional documents, photographs and records.

“I’m newish to Johannesburg,” this former Klerksdorp resident, who has been living in this city for a year, explained. “Then I was in London, Cape Town, Swaziland… I’m not connected with the Jewish community, so I’m not aware of the different politics between community factions.

“I’m interested not only in the community’s history, but the contemporary reality of the community,” he adds, referring to the fact that he has been working in Beyachad’s archives as well as with Johannesburg Jewry’s “walking encyclopaedia”, Isaac Reznik.

“They are building a website and the aim is that people will eventually be able to feed it themselves. It will be accessible to the general public, locally and abroad – as well as researchers.”

He speaks about interviews becoming a part of the project as well. “When you look at those books on Jewish roots, you realise how the Jewish influence pervades almost every aspect of the community. Every single huge business was Jewish-run. It’s wonderful.

“It’s an overwhelmingly large project. I need to find volunteers who are willing to help,” hesays. “In 1995, I was involved in an incredible project with Cape Town academic Milton Shain, who heads up the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies, on surviving South African Holocaust survivors.” It was a wonderful project, which has in certain ways hatched this project.

“All the stuff is going to fade. Scanning and photographing it will immortalise it, effectively. It all sort of bleeds together. Family life, and shuls and heritage projects could feed into it.

“It’s a monster; it’s potentially fabulous and a little overwhelming. It needs to take a shape that will be workable. We’re not just looking at prominent people, but at the normal guy in the street.

“Everyone says: ‘I’ve got pictures.’ Not many say: ‘I’m going to fetch them.’ I’m pleased I have my own parents’ photograph albums. I never look at them, but I would feel happier if in addition to being where they are, they were also on a website.”

* If you have photographs, memories or archival material of any nature that Lewis can access, he would be grateful if you contact him on 082-767-0244. The project has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewish-Digital-Archive-Project/174479422570750