Embedded Files
Life
Leon Balk was born in Tauragė in 1878 and emigrated with his wife, Mina née Blumenthal, to Great Britain around 1900, where he ran photography studios on the south coast of England, first in Eastbourne and later in Bexhill-on-Sea. In 1906, he became a British citizen. Following the early death of his wife in 1923, he moved with his daughter Bessie to Klaipėda, where he married his second wife, Lina née Bergmann, in 1925. Their daughter Judith (1926) and son David (1929) were both born there.
Leon Balk found a wealth of opportunities as a photographer in the port city. His keen eye, artistic standards, and attention to his clients resulted in expressive and compelling photographs. These images reveal numerous facets of the city dwellers’ way of life.
The photographer died unexpectedly on March 17, 1939, six days before Nazi Germany invaded the region. His widow, Lina, who held British citizenship through marriage, managed to flee with their two children and a few suitcases. Their journey took them through Berlin, where Lina had the children’s names entered into her passport at the British Consulate. That very same day, they continued their escape, finally taking the boat from the Netherlands to England.
About the exhibition
The rediscovery of this photographer is thanks to the British photography archaeologist Richard Schofield (Camera Obscura), who also tracked down his grandchildren, Martin Balk and Carolyn Ferguson, in England. Ruth and Michael Leiserowitz (Jews in East Prussia) supplemented these discoveries with numerous photographs depicting Jewish life that they had been collecting for years, and conducted research on the subject. It is the first exhibition to ever showcase Leon Balk’s Lithuanian work from 1925 to 1939.
Special thanks go to Martin Balk and Carolyn Ferguson, who have supported this research into their family’s time in Klaipėda with great interest and generosity.
Family
Lina, Leon’s second wife, had numerous relatives in Klaipėda, all of whom lived nearby. Leon photographed his children and their cousins extensively and with great care. He also tried out a few experiments whilst doing so. He took his private photographs with the same concentration and care as his pictures intended for public viewing.
Occupation
Leon Balk’s studio changed address several times. It was initially on Grabenstraße and was eventually located on Libauer Straße. Over time, he built up a large client base. He spent most of his time working in his studio, photographing families, schoolchildren and student groups, soldiers and Scouts. He produced carefully crafted and imaginative photographs for job applications and portrait sessions. He paid equal attention to all his clients; and made no distinction.
The Jewish World
When the photographer arrived in the city in about? 1925, he could not have imagined how Jewish life would unfold there. In 1927, the Jewish community established the ‘Bet Hechalutz’ centre for young people from western Lithuania who came to Klaipėda to prepare for their departure to British Mandate Palestine and to receive training in agriculture or the trades. Leon Balk captured their celebrations, gatherings, and moments of camaraderie with his camera. In addition, he became a chronicler of Jewish life in the city: he meticulously documented sports events, celebrations at kindergartens and schools, events at the Jewish hospital and the Jewish cemetery, as well as frequent visits by well-known politicians of the time. Many of these photographs have become widely known and can be found in numerous museums today; but until now they had not been attributed to Leon Balk.
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