Photo Album of a "Bar Kochva" Group in Antwerp, Belgium 1920-1925. Rare

Photo Album of a "Bar Kochva" Group in Antwerp, Belgium 1920-1925. Rare

Album with 134 photos of members of a "Bar Kochva" group in Antwerp. The photos were taken between 1920-1925. The back endpaper bears signatures of 58 members of the group, some in Hebrew and others in various languages. Rare documentation.

Along with group and personal pictures of the members of the organization in typical uniforms ["tie," hat and shirt with stars of David, Israeli flags] - primarily youth - there are photos of members of the association in Belgium on nature trips, at rest, playing ball, in formation, pitching tents, next to the synagogue and more. Most of the photos have handwritten captions with the names of the people in the photograph and year, between 1920 and 1925. Some also have details about the photographer.

In 1898, the Bar Kochva club was established in Berlin. About three years later, its Polish counterpart was started - in the wake of Max Nordau's speech: "May sport  live on, may Jewish athletic societies proliferate ... muscular Judaism." In May 1900, an official athletic magazine of the Bar Kochva Association was started. The association consisted of groups of Zionist students who were active in universities in Central Europe and organized Jewish students on a cultural and social level, including athletic activities.

This is important historic documentation about Bar Kochva activities in Antwerp, Beligum, which is almost unknown today. It has not been properly researched in the history of Jewish sport.

Some of the pictures are pasted to the album and some are in pockets. Decorative leather binding. Album: 25x32 cm. Photos of varying sizes: 18x23 cm. - 6x4 cm. Most of the pages have protective tissue paper. Overall fine condition.