Iosif Berman - Echipa de cercetare coordonate de profesorul Dimitrie Gusti

Iosif Berman (January 17, 1892,

Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. Klaus Pet ...

– September 17, 1941) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n photographer and journalist during the interwar period.

Early life

Iosif Berman was born in , near

to a Jewish father who had been awarded the Romanian citizenship for participating in the 1877

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the R ...

.Iosif Berman „omul cu o mie de ochi“
, ''Historia'' From an early age, Berman became interested in photography and as a child he spent time in the company of the

itinerant An itinerant is a person who travels habitually. Itinerant may refer to: *"Travellers" or itinerant groups in Europe * Itinerant preacher, also known as itinerant minister *Travelling salespeople, see door-to-door, hawker, and peddler *Travelling ...

photographers of Suceava and Cernăuți. Before the age of 18, he moved to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, where he earned money to buy a camera.Domnica Macri
"Iosif Berman - Un fotograf roman in National Geographic."
''National Geographic Romania'', June 2008, p.39 His first photos were published in 1913 in the ' depicting the cholera

lazaretto A lazaretto or lazaret (from it, lazzaretto a diminutive form of the Italian word for beggar cf. lazzaro) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. ...

from

Turtucaia Tutrakan ( bg, Тутракан , ro, Тurtucaia, tr, Turtukaya) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of the homonymous municipality, part of Silistra Province. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube opposite t ...

. He continued working at the ''

Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published du ...

'' and ''Dimineaţa'' newspapers, both of which were owned by left-wing activist

Constantin Mille Constantin Mille (; December 21, 1861 – February 20, 1927) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, lawyer, and socialist militant, as well as a prominent human rights activist. A Marxist for much of his life, Mille was noted for his vocal sup ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he was a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

photographer and he was able to take photos of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

, but his

photographic plate Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a capture medium in photography, and were still used in some communities up until the late 20th century. The light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was coated on a glass plate, typically thi ...

s were confiscated, on turns, by the Whites and by the Bolsheviks. In 1918, he contributed to ''Realitatea Ilustrată'' with a set of photographs of the fleeing German Army. After his regiment was disbanded, he traveled to

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

, in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

, where he met Raisa, whom he married and with whom he had a daughter, Luiza.

Photojournalist

Between 1920 and 1923, he was a correspondent from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

for the Romanian newspaper. After returning to Romania, he was a photographer for the major Romanian newspaper, taking photographs of the Royal Family. During the mid-1920s, Berman collaborated with sociologist

Dimitrie Gusti Dimitrie Gusti (; 13 February 1880 – 30 October 1955) was a Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and voluntarist philosopher; a professor at the University of Iaşi and the University of Bucharest, he served as Romania's Minister o ...

, who studied the Romanian village and traditions, and with for his

reportage Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the journalist, occupa ...

articles. His photographs were published in all the major Romanian newspapers of the time: ''Adevărul'', ''Dimineaţa'', ''

Curentul ''Curentul'' is a Romanian newspaper, based in Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the count ...

'', '' Realitatea ilustrată'', ''

România ilustrată Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and t ...

'', '' Ilustraţiunea română'', ''

Cuvântul liber ''Cuvântul'' (, meaning "The Word") was a daily newspaper, published by philosopher Nae Ionescu in Bucharest, Romania, from 1926 to 1934, and again in 1938. It was primarily noted for progressively adopting a far right and fascist agenda, and ...

'', ' and also in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and '' National Geographic'', being a correspondent of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

and Scandinavian Newspaper Press.

Fascist era

In 1937, the

Octavian Goga Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Life and politics Goga was born in Rășinari, near Sibiu. Goga was an active member in the Romanian nationalis ...

government closed down the left-wing newspapers for which he worked and his life's work, the boxes with the photographic plates from the archive of the ''Adevărul'' and ''Dimineaţa'' newspapers were confiscated. Nevertheless, he continued to work and to send photographs to ''

''. Following the advice of Romanian historian and later Prime Minister

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

, Berman began using a pseudonym, I. B. Urseanu, (which is a translation of his Jewish name) in order not to attract the attention of the antisemitic

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strong ...

. Nevertheless, in 1940, he was banned from continuing his work due to the

Anti-Jewish laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities". Some were adopted in the 1930s and 1940s in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy a ...

which were enacted by the

National Legionary State The National Legionary State was a totalitarian fascist regime which governed Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led by General Ion Antonescu in partnership with th ...

. Depressed, he soon died on September 17, 1941. According to his daughter, he succumbed to a

renal disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can b ...

for which he refused to get any treatment.

Legacy

After World War II, the communist government tried to use the photos for propaganda, but they were hardly propaganda material. According to a researcher at

Museum of the Romanian Peasant The National Museum of the Romanian Peasant ( ro, Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român) is a museum in Bucharest, Romania, with a collection of textiles (especially costumes), icons, ceramics, and other artifacts of Romanian peasant li ...

, he presented a realist view of the village, with its poor, its gypsies, and its

village idiot The village idiot in strict terms is a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person or stock character. Description The term "village idiot" is also used as a stereo ...

. Nevertheless, the photos were rediscovered after the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

at the Museum of the Romanian Peasant, which also published a monography on him. A documentary on his life and work was also made, called "Omul cu o mie de ochi" (The Man with a Thousand Eyes), directed by .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Iosif 1892 births 1941 deaths People from Suceava Romanian Jews Adevărul people War photographers Romanian photojournalists Photographers from Bucharest Romanian journalists 20th-century journalists