50 Amazing Black and White Photographs of Paris in the 1930s

Fred Stein was born on July 3, 1909 in Dresden, Germany. As a teenager he was deeply interested in politics and became an early anti-Nazi activist. He was a brilliant student, and went to Leipzig University, full of humanist ideals, to study law. He obtained a law degree in an impressively short time, but was denied admission to the German bar by the Nazi government for “racial and political reasons.” The threat of Fascism grew more and more dangerous and after the SS began making inquiries about him, Stein fled to Paris in 1933 with his new wife, Liselotte Salzburg, under the pretext of taking a honeymoon.

In Paris they were in the center of a circle of expatriates, intellectuals and artists. In the midst of upheaval, gathering war, and personal penury, Stein began taking photographs. He was a pioneer of the small, hand-held camera, and with the Leica which he and his wife had purchased as a joint wedding present, he went into the streets to photograph scenes of life in Paris. He saw hope and beauty where most people would only see despair. He also became acquainted with and photographed some of the leading personalities of Europe.

Paris Evening, 1934

Cobblestones, 1936

Le Gaz, 1935

Notre Dame, 1938

Crab Seller, 1935

Grandmothers, 1934

Electricians, 1934

Window Painters, 1935

Marching Shadows, 1938

Street Crossing, 1935

Swing, 1934

Wheelbarrow, 1936

Cafe, 1935

Metro, 1936

Renovation, 1934

Paris Jewish Quarter, 1935

Grands Boulevards, 1937

Cinzano, 1937

Streetcorner, 1934

Cameraman, 1935

Boy Leaning Against Wall, 1937

Jewish Quarter Antwerp, 1937

Photographer, 1935

Flea Market, 1936

Man with Bread, 1937

Reading in Grass, 1936

Knitting, 1933

Fountain, 1935

Selling Flowers, 1935

Fishing, 1930

Children Reading the Newspaper, 1936

Le Flic, Paris 1937

Embrace, 1934

Hobo, 1935

Hole in Fence, 1936

Water Fountain, 1934

Popular Front, 1936

Circle Game, 1936

Newsprint, 1934

Boys Fishing, 1936

Flower Vendor, 1935

Big Ball, 1936

Boy with Violin, 1935

Vendor, 1937

Chez, 1934

Old Man With Cane, 1936

Child on Steps, 1935

Sprayer, 1938

Woman at Window, 1933

Doll Man, 1938

(Photos © Fred Stein Archive)