A photographic journey into the lives of the Jews of Ioannina of the past century

Posted on January 25, 2018 by zagori

At the Zollikofer residence in Nancy, circa 1901. Nissim and his friends and other banqueters enjoy a lavish dinner and amuse themselves with poems, music and wide-ranging conversations Nissim Levis, a member of an affluent Jewish family in Ioannina, killed in the Holocaust, captured the lives of the Jews in Ioannina city in Epirus in 500 images.

The photographs are in the form of glass photographic plates, and were passed down in the family until Alexander Moissis, the grandson of Nissim Levis’ niece, decided to share this family heirloom with the world.

The book’s title is: “The Nissim Levis Panorama, 1898-1944: Stereoscopic photos and travels of a doctor from Ioannina” and is published by Kapon Editions.

Ioannina, ca 1905. Nissim D. Levis out hunting on the lake of Ioannina, pictured with the Aslan mosque in the background. Ioannina, February 21, 1913. Nissim Levis captures the historic moment when the first Greek armed forces paraded into the city of Ioannina following the unconditional surrender of the Ottoman ruler, Essat Pasha. Ioannina lake, February 1929. Ioannina, summer 1912. Members of the Levis family pictured in the back yard of their house. The little girl holding the gun is Hiette Levis, Nissim's niece and the author's grandmother. Nissim's brother Matathioulis Levis (second from left) with friends on the lake. Paris: Sunday February 21, 1909, in the apartment of Nissim's brother, Maurice D. Levis. Nissim is visible in the mirror. Ioannina, 1898. Members of the Levis family in front of the home occupied by one of Nissim's brothers, Matathoulis Levis (seen far left holding his son Sam by the hand). The home still stands today. Ioannina, March 25, 1944, near Mavili Square, less than 200m from the Levis house. The final image of the book and the only one not taken by Nissim Levis (he too was deported that morning). A few days later he and many other members of the Levis family were executed at Auschwitz.