Poland in the Eyes of Dutch Photographer Willem Van De Poll
History Meeting House in Warsaw has prepared an extraordinary exposition of the photos of the Dutch Photographer Willem van de Poll. The exposition of earlier unknown and never before published photographs taken in 1934 in Warsaw, Łowicz, Vilnius and on the Polish-Russian and Polish-Lithuanian borderlands are exhibited for the 1st time in Warsaw.
Around 400 pictures taken during Willem van de Poll’s (1895–1970) journey to Poland have been gathered in the National Archives in the Hague and are now presented in Warsaw.
In Warsaw, Willem van de Poll, an outstanding photographer and reporter, met many political figures, among them president Ignacy Mościcki and minister of foreign affairs Józef Beck, cultural personages such as Wanda Wermińska, Loda Halama, Ewa Bandrowska-Turska, Jadwiga Smolarska, the cream of Warsaw society, aristocracy, airmen, sportsmen. Van de Poll took pictures of the capital city, including Warsaw Old Town and the Jewish district, a newly-opened airport in Okęcie, the Grand Theatre, the Polish Radio, the Belweder Palace, the Museum of the Warsaw Citadel and many other landmarks.
During his long professional life, Willem van de Poll occupied himself with press, travel and advertisement photography. He was also head of the photography service of the Netherlands Armed Forces and a photographer of the Netherlands royal family. He worked for press agencies and many journals and magazines. He also published a few albums. He travelled across Europe, Africa, Asia, South America. The National Archives in the Hague have collected approximately 30 thousands of Willem van de Poll’s negatives.
The main focus of the History Meeting House (HMH) is the history of Central and Eastern Europe in the twentieth century. In HMH, history is presented through exhibitions, discussions, meeting cycles devoted to the history of Warsaw, screenings of feature films and documentaries, educational workshops, book launches, seminars and conferences. Additionally, the HMH acts as a publishing house, with a wide selection of books concerning the history of the twentieth century available in its book-store.
Photos are available here: http://www.dsh.waw.pl/en/3_153
Sources and Photos : dsh.waw.pl
