50 Important Historical Photos That Might Change Your Perspective On Things, As Shared By This Facebook Page
Ever since the invention of the camera in the early 1800s, photographers have documented everything, from wars and protest marches to scientific discoveries, and even space landings, allowing everyone to, in a way, "attend" these special events.
The Facebook page 'Old Photographs' has collected a wide selection of such interesting historical moments—big and small. So let's take a look at some of its top posts, after all, chances are, each of us will find something that will help us to see the past in a new light.
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On 27 January 1945 was the liberation of Auschwitz. To forget would be to say these faces, the faces of millions of others didn't matter. Never forget. Teach the children to remember.
Some of the survivors reunited in 2005. You can click on their names to get more of their stories and Gabi Neumann's who did extensive research including giving a background on the picture which included "Q: Tell me about the famous photograph in which you appear. A: The picture was taken a few days after liberation. I don’t remember exactly how many. It is a completely staged photograph. The Russians walked around the blocks calling on us to be photographed. My sister didn’t want to be photographed, so she isn’t in the picture. I was curious, and allowed my picture to be taken. You can see that they dressed us in prisoner uniforms that were a few sizes too big for us. Underneath the prisoner uniforms we wore the rags that we had. But because of this picture, I found my family. The Russians took my details and that’s how my mother found my sister and me later on." https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/through-the-lens/auschwitz-child-survivors.asp
My uncle was part of the group who entered one of the camps, I'm not sure which, he was affected by this the rest of his life. I can't imagine how badly it affected those kept there..
It's unfathomable. I'm what we refer to as a "third-gen", all of my grandparents were/are (only one is still alive) holocaust survivors. Most or all of their origin families were wiped out. There are still behaviors that persist, mostly surrounding food. More seriously, most people don't realize how deeply this impacts Israel's behavior to this day. I don't condone the violence or racism, it's horrible, but I honestly believe it is wildly misunderstood.
Load More Replies... There is a UK BBC drama documentary called The Windermere Children which is about a group of child Holocaust survivors who were brought to England after the war. Some were adopted by English families, and some were reunited with their own families eventually. The survivors, now very elderly, appeared at the end of the film to tell their stories. It's an incredibly disturbing but moving film, and it's important that they aren't forgotten.
I visited Auschwitz's ruins and museum. it was the worst and the best experience in my life. Guides have a lot of stories from survivors. It is unbelievable what this people were able to survive and that wardens/other people in general were able of such unspeakable crimes. And similar things are happening currently somewhere else. Terrible.
My sister & I went to the Auschwitz Exhibit in Kansas City last year. It was heartrending. I wish everyone could see it & know the truth.
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Im 42 female mum from UK and it burns me inside when I see kids my daughter's age (9) n even niece's and nephew (age range 19-23 and are in no way rude or disrespectful) but have actually no real understanding as to what these people have done or went through. When i was at school we read soldiers diaries or some real deep harrowing info on what the Jewish and others went through. These days they read Anne Frank and the tick box for the UK education board is happy as though its covered everything. I've learnt and I think we should think on this... How can the next generation really understand, respect, mourn or learn to be our new leaders and learn from mistakes, when the education system now just randomly wipes out the whole story?? Same as the woke gen (nothing against them in fact i support their liberal of thinking, BUT) Cancell8ng every person in history but not for the achievements like Saville but because when they achieved those ground breaking things life was normal to be a ra
The Kashmiri Hindu Pandits never even got the chance to talk about their genocide. Neither were there anyone to listen.
How can some in America be so intent on ignoring the past bc it makes them uncomfortable. That's how we learn to do better!
Old white men in our government are determined to wipe out the real history of our country. And unfortunately, they are getting it done.
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I don’t know if this is that same thing but there is a book called the boy in the striped pyjamas and it’s really good
"Never forget" an expression used by Netanyahu has nothing to do with stopping racism by remembering the Holocaust. It's true meaning was never forget that experience and simple use the same tactics again others (Palestinians). Human behavior is as animalistic & primal as any other predator species on earth.
NO-HUMANS ARE WORSE! WE ARE THE DISGUSTING SPECIES THAT MAKE WAR, KILL FOR FUN OR SPORT, AND HAVE DESTROYED THE PLANET FOR NOT JUST US BUT FOR ALL LIFE, WE HAVE DRIVEN OTHER SPECIES INTO EXTINCTION, AND WE HAVE EVEN DESTROYED OUR ATMOSPHERE. HUMANS ARE THE NASTIES SPECIES ON THE PLANET AND WE CARRY MORE DISEASES THAN ANY OTHER LIFE FORM.
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............ examine what we accept and how we currently live and you have to admit this can and may happen again ...............
There are more holocausts in human history, unfortunately. The American Holocaust, elimination of entire communities of indigenous peoples as part of colonialism. The list of massacres that have occurred in China from Mongol conquest, to anti-communist Kuomintang, to Japanese military, to Mao politics .The Cambodian genocide, the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of general secretary Pol Pot. Armenian genocide, Rwandan genocide and a lot more.
If you see a purple triangle on the uniforms of those in the camps it is to identify them as Jehovah's Witnesses.
And as annoying as many think they are, JWs have the right to their beliefs. Unless, of course, they get hauled off to the Konzentrationlager. And shot, hung, or burnt. Pink triangles were for the gay population that didn't wear the Nazi uniform. And when caught, it's likely they would have preferred a camp.
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I wish history would teach us more about the Auschwitz victims. i don't care that on Saturday may 13 1943 at 945 pm some American soldier took a sh*t. i only know as much as I know about WWII and the jews because I did my own research because I'm so fascinated by the subject. but I shouldn't have to when I have perfectly good teachers to teach me this.you didn't become a history teacher to tell me things my eight grade history teacher made a eccentric little slide about.
There’s a book called the boy in the striped pyjamas that is based on this story
amateur photo editor. thought they deserved to be seen as they were. https://imgbly.com/ib/YmF88J0nC0
OH MOST HAVE NEVER EVEN LEARNED, LET ALONE FORGOTTEN...BUT THEY SOON WILL.
Load More Replies... It boggles my mind how one person was able to achieve this insane and depraved plan.
Just one of the guys. (WWII)
Laughter has sounded the same throughout generations and languages.
(Unidentified woman and child, Jemez Pueblo New Mexico, by Jesse Nusbaum)
Some of our favorite old photographs are merely everyday people in everyday life.
A family portrait. Gainesville, Florida - 1900.
Source: State Library and Archives of Florida
This picture circa 1900s shows knife grinders also called ventres jaunes (‘yellow stomachs’ referring to the yellow dust released by the grinding wheel). By laying face down, these yellow stomachs would save their backs from being hunched over all day. Workers were encourage to bring their dogs to not only keep them company but to act as heaters to keep them warm by having the dogs lie on their legs.
(Photo is from the web-site of, French knife maker, Claude Dozorme - ” The Wolf ”).
A very moving caption:
"This is a mass burial at sea, on the USS Intrepid in 1944 following a kamikaze attack. I've never seen this photo, and I figure most of you probably haven't either. I posted so people can see, and remember the incredible sacrifices made on our behalf."
There is modern beauty in this photograph of Lota Cheek taken 99 years ago.
Animals bring a type of joy not found in other ways.
When do we gain the inhibitions not present in our youth?
Omg the amount of times we all nearly died during our childhoods, it'll never be the same again, leaving home on your own/with friends in the early morning, someone's dog would be part of the gang, not coming home until dinner time and literally no contact with anyone's parents all day lol. Fantastic photo
Timeless photography looks as beautiful now as it did when it was taken.
Formal portraits rarely featured smiles, but they can be found in photographs of daily life during this period. (1912, South Carolina.)
A routine repair.
Dressed to impress. (1908)
Who loved jumping off? (Even though mom told you not to.)
Is it possible the architects had this in mind when they designed Grand Central Station? (1934)
She was born Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke, but you would know her as the Good Witch of the North in "The Wizard of Oz".
104 years ago this fountain in Detroit, Michigan was left running allowing it to build layer upon layer in to this 30 foot icy spectacle.
This 1931 photograph captures the spirit of the season as Santa delivers presents to the children of an adoption home in London.
A girl, a dog, a mule. From the 1921 silent film "Through the Back Door" staring Mary Pickford.
1937: when even ice skating was done in a suit.
March 1938: 70-year-old Mrs Elizabeth Arnold, believed to be England's only woman blacksmith, shoes a horse outside the 400-year-old forge in Walmer, Kent. (Photo by Fox Photos).
They wear shoes and clothes with holes and dirt upon their faces, yet they are absolutely perfect. (1936)
Fred Messer's life spanned three centuries. He was born in 1792, 16 years after the United States became a counrty and lived to see automobiles roll along roads, dying in 1907. (North Carolina.)
Two innocent souls from days long ago.
Doggie is straight chillin... Little girl is not so sure lol
A woman on a mission with her baguette and six bottles of wine.
(Paris 1945 - by Branson Decou)
How homework was done before google.
I remember the days, although for me it was 90's s and early 00's :D
An old photograph with a funny twist in today’s context.
It took more than 15 years to take the Statue of Liberty from concept to reality. Construction is pictured here in 1884, less than two years before she was completed.
And it took only one presidential mandate to throw liberty into the gutter and revamp racism, bigotry, vandalism, and xenophobia.
1890s Walmart. So many great details inside this general store. It was a time when you knew your grocer and they knew you. We have more, but we in some ways have less.
When I was still in elementary school we moved from a decent size city to a very very rural town. It was like we had wound the clock back 30 years. It was a major culture shock.It had one chain fast food place and all the other ones were mom and pop joints.It had at that time the only bar I'd ever seen. It had one pharmacy which was mom and pop. And the gas station was the same way. The coolest thing about the whole town was the general store. It was like you'd see in movies. They made keys the old fashion way. If you wanted paint it had to be whatever color was in the can because they didn't mix custom colors. They had all types of gardening tools, seeds, fertilizer made from local chicken farm poop, and bee keeping supplies. It was one of the last stores that sold old style shotguns and rifles for hunting. And lastly, it had one of those old time rolling ladders that rode on a track mounted to the ceiling to get to the stuff on the shelves that went from floor to ceiling. Good times.
Be thankful for what you have.
Be thankful for one another.
This caption is beyond inappropriate. The photo is of street orphans who have no one living that can take care of them. There was a movement at the time in art including painting and photography to make the public aware of their plight. They probably had not eaten in days. No telling what happened to their parents. It was meant to teach empathy.
Its not about where you are, its who you're with. (1945)
Rush hour in Chicago didn’t look any better 104 years ago.
Isn't it interesting that we meet some of the best friends we ever have within the first years of our lives.
(Photo by Edouard Boubat. Paris, 1952.)
I had an entirely different youth than suggested. Lot of bullying. No one I would consider a friend until middle school when I found the nerds.
The less you have, the more you appreciate what you do have.
(Western North Carolina 1914-1917, from the William A. Barnhill Collection.)
My grandchild still hug chicken in todays world. They are the best pets....
There’s nothing quite like getting hand delivered mail. (1900)
Today, be thankful.
(Arizona migrant family, 1940.)
These captions are giving me the shits. Yes we should be thankful, but we shouldn't be using real people in pain and poverty to make ourselves feel better about our own lives.
Note: this post originally had 128 images. It’s been shortened to the top 49 images based on user votes.
This would have been so much better without those ridiculous (and sometimes insulting) captions.
Like seriously. We get it. We’ve all heard it a billion times now. Phone bad, internet bad, Nikola Tesla was a witch. Now shut the hell up for once and let us enjoy these fascinating historic photos.
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Loved these beautiful old photos. They give a person a feel for the time they were taken.
Imagine ,people a century from now, seeing pictures from today as "the 20's"
Imagine their shame when they see tiktok and other modern atrocities
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This isn't the oldest family photo I have, but it's one of the most important. This is my great grandfather, standing with his regimental flag (I think) complete with bullet hole WHHM-Civil...18efef.jpg 
I always feel very melancholic when looking at such pictures, knowing that every single person and creature shown is long dead and, likely, not remembered. Certainly, there is a record of sorts that they existed at all, but there is nothing of their lives or their experiences. Such will befall us all regardless of how we might wish to leave our mark.
My Aunt Angela with Pungie the dog during WW2. She held down the fort in the family business while her brothers were off at war. Family business is still around, and Broadway Lock in South Boston is celebrating 100 years now. Aunt-Angie...b29b9e.jpg 
This would have been so much better without those ridiculous (and sometimes insulting) captions.
Like seriously. We get it. We’ve all heard it a billion times now. Phone bad, internet bad, Nikola Tesla was a witch. Now shut the hell up for once and let us enjoy these fascinating historic photos.
Load More Replies... Loved these beautiful old photos. They give a person a feel for the time they were taken.
Imagine ,people a century from now, seeing pictures from today as "the 20's"
Imagine their shame when they see tiktok and other modern atrocities
Load More Replies... This isn't the oldest family photo I have, but it's one of the most important. This is my great grandfather, standing with his regimental flag (I think) complete with bullet hole WHHM-Civil...18efef.jpg
I always feel very melancholic when looking at such pictures, knowing that every single person and creature shown is long dead and, likely, not remembered. Certainly, there is a record of sorts that they existed at all, but there is nothing of their lives or their experiences. Such will befall us all regardless of how we might wish to leave our mark.
My Aunt Angela with Pungie the dog during WW2. She held down the fort in the family business while her brothers were off at war. Family business is still around, and Broadway Lock in South Boston is celebrating 100 years now. Aunt-Angie...b29b9e.jpg
