Bidspirit auction | AN ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH OF RABBI

AN ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH OF RABBI AHARON ROKEACH OF BELZ ESCAPING THE NAZIS ON A TRAIN. Photographed - An original black and white photograph of the Grand Rabbi of Belz escaping the Nazis on a train. Hans Lampalzer (signed in the plate), a non-Jewish photographer, active in Marienbad, who frequently photographed the rabbis and rebbes visiting his town. There are several known postcards with photographs taken by Lampalzer during this very occasion, at the train station in Marienbad. Rabbi  Rokeach (December 2, 1880 – August 18, 1957) was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz leading his chassidim from 1926 until he died in 1957. His father, Yissachar Dov Rokeach, was the third Belzer Rebbe. Known for his piety and mysticism, Rokeach was called the ”Wonder Rabbi” by Jews and Gentiles alike for the miracles he purportedly performed. During the Holocaust, Rebbe Aharon was high on the list of Gestapo targets as a high-profile Rebbe. With the support and financial assistance of Belzer Hasidim in Mandatory Palestine, England, and the United States, he and his half-brother, Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgoray, managed to escape from Poland into Hungary, then into Turkey, Lebanon, and finally into Mandatory Palestine in February 1944.  Dimensions: 3.5 x 5.2 in