Objects

The photograph shows a fragment of the former Jewish quarter in Tykocin on the day after the fire, which broke out on 22 September 1965. As "Gazeta Białostocka" (newspaper) reported at the time, a significant part of the town was destroyed, 49 buildings burnt down, and the losses were estimated at over a million zloty. The Great Synagogue, which survived the conflagration, is visible in the background. The photograph comes from a collection of negatives showing the city after the great fire of 1965. The author of the series is the highly regarded photographer Józef Rybiński, born in 1912 in Saczkowice, a small village in Podlaskie Province. Józef Rybiński is also known for his activity as a writer and journalist. His best-known publication is the novelSłońce na miedzy published in 1979.