ABOUT

Pre-Second World War Lithuanian Jewish photographs provide a unique and irreplaceable record of a civilisation that no longer exists. Not unlike the huge diversity of people that made and owned them in the decades leading up to Nazi Germany's invasion of Lithuania on June 22, 1941, the vast majority of these always fascinating and often revealing images were either completely destroyed or otherwise displaced during the three years of incomprehensible savagery that followed. After almost four years of research, and never for once forgetting the extraordinary act of preservation that inspired the entire undertaking in the first place, on May 17, 2024 I established the Data Brigade as an official Lithuanian non-profit organisation with the sole purpose of locating, documenting and ensuring the long-term digital preservation of every single surviving example of these priceless images around the world. 

Richard Schofield

Founder & Coordinator

The Data Brigade

June 11, 2024

The Data Brigade is the direct descendant of the International Centre for Litvak Photography, a Lithuanian nonprofit organisation that was involved in various educational and public engagement activities between 2015 and 2023. A small archive highlighting some of the organisation’s projects can be seen here.More information about me can be found here. 

The Data Brigade is a secular and apolitical organisation.